Editor’s Note: The AMI Quiet Times for March 2nd-8th are provided by Andrew Kim of Radiance Christian Church.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
1 Samuel 13:8-14
8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince[a] over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
We live in a world where patience is losing its value. Remember when the Internet was first introduced, and you could hear the sound of the AOL dial up struggling to make that connection – only to hear your mom picking up the phone and that entire precious waiting wasted in a second? Today, we complain about lagging YouTube videos or long lines. We have entered into an era of instant gratification, and sadly this mindset is plaguing our spiritual lives as well. In many cases, waiting means losing, and we must do whatever it takes to win as self-sufficient people.
However, impatience is not a recent pandemic, but one that can be found in our historical roots, in the life of King Saul. Here in this passage we see that Saul is hiding in caves with his enemies surrounding him, his fellow soldiers abandoning him, and his heart wavering at the thought of death. After waiting seven days, he focuses on the situation and takes matters into his own hands. But when Samuel returns and rebukes Saul’s disobedience, Saul makes excuses, blaming the circumstances.
It’s easy to recognize Saul’s mistake and judge him for it, but I do want to give him some credit for some of his waiting – I certainly wouldn’t have lasted that long. Technically, he did partially obey the commands, but here we see that partial obedience is not obedience. One of the greatest tactics the enemy uses is for us to partially obey and think it is enough. Charles Spurgeon writes that because of impatience, “We have missed most privileges, and have wasted many opportunities in which we might have honored God, might have been an outstanding example of Christianity, and might have greatly benefited our own souls. Affliction has been the fire which would have removed our imperfections, but impatience has robbed us of its purification. Impatience is unprofitable, dishonorable, and damaging; it has never brought us reward or any good, and never will.” In Romans 5, we see that patience builds our character and leads us to an enduring hope of glory.
In the context of Saul’s mistakes, we learn that a man after God’s own heart is one who keeps God’s commands by trusting in His faithfulness and protection, despite the circumstances. Saul’s mistake was that his impatience led to faith in himself rather than God. This does not mean we are to only wait and not put in any effort; but we are to remind ourselves that God is in control. Patience is more than about just waiting; it is an act of worship.
Take a moment and reflect on areas in your life where you find yourself lacking patience or faith in Him. Whatever or whoever the situation may be, instead of creating a world of excuses, let us repent and have a heart of surrender and worship. There is something so sweet and intimate that develops when we wait and cling onto our Savior in the midst of trials and tribulations. I pray that we all may have a heart after God’s heart.
Bible Reading for Today: Jeremiah 6
When I turned 30, I remember struggling with the concept of legacy, because I thought I had wasted most of my twenties and had accomplished little in my life. By the word “legacy,” I’m referring to the idea of how you will be remembered and whether or not your life has made an impact. As I thought of all the people that I knew who had gone on to become successful in business and other respected professions, for the first time, I seriously gave some reflection on what I was leaving behind as a pastor. In hindsight, maybe I was overly self-critical because I was reading the biographies of people who had accomplished great things before their 30th birthday. For example, John Calvin wrote The Institutes of the Christian Faith during his twenties. Charles Spurgeon was leading the London Tabernacle, a church of ten thousand people, before the age of thirty. But this self-reflection provided a healthy sense of urgency as well.
Some years ago, I had a discussion with a friend on whether if would be preferable to have a large ministry whose leaders were powerfully gifted but lacking in character, or to have a small ministry where the leadership was high in character but not as visibly anointed. It was a fun conversation because I think we both knew the right answer. But admittedly, it was difficult not to entertain the thought of being highly successful without having to pay the cost of growing in integrity. In a perfect world, we would want the best of both scenarios—high character leaders impacting large numbers of people with their anointing; but in an imperfect world, you can have one without the other.
At first glance, this reluctance to take the mantle of kingship may appear to be a sign of humility, but there is a clear distinction between modesty and a lack of courage. Saul suffered greatly from the latter because of his inability to conquer his insecurities. Perhaps a clue to Saul’s inner demon is found in the preceding chapter when he responds to Samuel by saying, “Am I not a Benjamite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the smallest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?” In certain ways, Saul is paralyzed by his own negative self-perception and he is unable to respond to the call of God in a healthy manner. Later on, in his relationship with David, Saul’s insecurities would drive him into murderous fits of jealousy when the people begin to give greater praise to David.
One of the questions that have always come to my mind in reading 1 Samuel 9 is: “Why did God direct Samuel the prophet to choose Saul as the first king of Israel?” For those who know the story, Saul was a horrible king who rejected God’s commands and was self-serving, murderous, and insane towards the end of his life. God certainly could have kept this man from the throne, yet not only does He permit Saul to become king, but He is the active agent in the process of bringing Saul to power. Was this simply a case of not reading Saul’s resume carefully and making an unfortunate hiring blunder?
It was a blessing for me to read about Billy Graham and his 3 decades of enduring lifelong partnership with his ministry teammates, of which the most familiar to the public are: Cliff Barrows, Grady Wilson, and George Beverly Shea. In this present age, we are bombarded and accustomed to hearing about the failures of leaders from all sectors of life. So I found it refreshing, inspiring and hopeful in reading about modern day saints who have faithfully finished their God-given calling with such humility, grace, and integrity. It’s no surprise to find that their personal and ministry success of serving together at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association were birthed out of the spirit, mind set, and effort of being a team. Ruth Graham, Billy Graham’s daughter described her father’s ministry team in this way: “Not only has the ministry been a team effort, but what strikes me is that it has also been an effort made largely by the same team”.
Recently, I was feeling discouraged by the lack of visible breakthroughs in the ongoing 18 plus years of interceding for my siblings’ salvation and the heart wrenching circumstances that they are in. A thought of, “What’s the use, you might as well give up praying for them,” came to my mind. Just then, I felt the tugging of the Holy Spirit, reminding me of several prayers that were prayed over me: The first prayer was a prophetic word from a pastor that God has called me to be a spiritual pillar for my family. The second prayer was that God was teaching me a new way to see, to respond, and to pray for my dysfunctional family through His perspective and not my own.
Lk 14:26-33 (NIV): “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. [27] And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. [28] Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? [29] For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, [30] saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ [31] Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? [32] If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. [33] In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”
As our commitment level grows, we’ll reach a point where we may be ready to surrender all aspects of our lives to the “King of kings” (1 Tim. 6:15), which is what the second parable shows. The “kings” refer to us who are in charge of our own lives, but upon seeing that the KING, who comes to conquer, is stronger than us, then, instead of fighting, we’ll surrender. Those who haven’t added faith to their rationality will put up a losing fight; those who have will yield, allowing the KING to rule them wherein they encounter righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
A large freshmen class was told by the professor to submit their monthly assignments on the last day of the month—from September to November. The fifty students who missed the first deadline were given a failing grade, but the professor showed them mercy when they pleaded for leniency on account of not yet being acclimated to college life. Later, hundred students missed the second deadline, but the professor again showed them mercy on account that midterm exams were too much for them. Once the word got around about the professor’s leniency, almost everyone missed the final deadline. When told that they will all get an “F,” they yelled “Unjust!” to which the professor asked, “Do you want me to be just?” When they said “Yes,” he declared, “Everyone who missed the deadline for previous assignments all get an ‘F’.”
This story and the parable above are very similar except for the people involved. The landlord goes out to the market place on several occasions to hire men for his vineyard. Like the day laborers of today, these are desperate men in need of work. The earliest hired laborers probably worked for twelve hours; the last hired, only one. Those who worked the longest, after seeing that the last hired received a denarius (a day’s wage), expected more; they were disappointed. Then the landlord, like the professor, was accused of being unjust. In response, he pointedly said to his accusers, “I’m not being unfair; I can do whatever I want with my money. You received the agreed amount; with others I’m being generous.”