What Is Your Disobedience Costing You?
1 Samuel 13:7-14
Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear. 8 Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. 9 So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself.
10 Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him, 11 but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. 12 So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.”13 “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
Since the beginning of time, it has been man’s will against God’s will. With the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden, humans have since entered the world with a sinful desire to be in control of their own lives.
This sinful nature can be very costly. Not only does it affect the lives of the sinner, but also the lives of those that are nearest and dearest to them as well.
A couple of days ago I was reading a passage of scripture from 1st Samuel, chapter 13. King Saul had become fearful of losing all his troops. He became impatient and would not wait any longer for Samuel (who was a prophet) to arrive as promised. He did as most of us do when we become impatient, we decide to take matters into our own hands. This is almost always a mistake, especially if God has said wait.
Saul’s disobedience cost him his kingdom, a kingdom that Samuel told him that God would have established forever, had he been obedient. As a result, God sought a man after his own heart, and that man was David.
King Saul not only lost his kingdom, but he also lost his peace. He became a jealous crazed man, who desired to kill an innocent person, and he even tried to kill his son at one point. Needless to say, he lost the respect of his son also.
Can you imagine losing an entire kingdom for generations to come, because you were disobedient?
So, I ask you to stop and think today, what might your disobedience be costing you? You see God has blessings upon blessings in store for us, but we will never know what they are, if we live in disobedience.
May I encourage you today to live a life that honors God, with a heart that seeks after Him faithfully and obediently and watch the blessings flow!
