Bringing Justice to Your Unjust Situations

^{Psalms 19:7-14}

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure and bright, enlightening the eyes.

⁹ The [reverent] fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, even than much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover, by them is Your servant warned (reminded, illuminated, and instructed); and in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his lapses and errors? Clear me from hidden [and unconscious] faults.

¹³ Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then shall I be blameless, and I shall be innocent and clear of great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.

Background
When we have good laws that help citizens become better, be safer, be empowered, be free-it is worth being praised. This is what David says about God's laws!I heard something worth thinking about from a preacher on Youtube. He said the angels in heaven are constantly declaring "Holy, Holy Holy" do we know why? They are acclaiming not only the being, the composition of God but also His acts, every single one of His Acts are Holy, Perfect, Just, Worthy of praise! So in heaven the angels aren't saying Holy, Holy Holy as a chant, in rhythm following a beat-but more like as declaring, as and when the acts occur, not in unison but perhaps, what I can think of is, like kids answering a question when a teacher throws a question at the whole class and its an answer everyone knows! But only in a continuous process, forever, non-stop! With wonder, with Awe, With admiration! Whoa Holy, Holy Holy the angels declare! That's how wonderful God's Works are on this earth.


Lessons
These verses in Psalm come from David, a man who after being anointed to be king did not really become king the very next day.  The Bible records in the book of Samuel how he went through struggle every single day of his time of preparation with Saul trying to kill him for no fault of his own except that Saul was jealous of David. How crazy is that!!! Yet God gave him twice a chance to take out Saul but David maintained that he would rather have God's justice for his situation rather than exercise his justification by himself!
The Laws of God have the ability to

1. Restore a person and make him complete in every way
2. Giving you wisdom
3. Bring rejoicing in your heart( a permanent thing)
4. Enlightening your perception-increasing your ability to observe the situation on a grander scale
5. Fear of the Lord makes a person clean!

How can we receive God's Justice through His Laws

1. Just by observing ONE THING-keeping yourself Holy before a Holy God - in mind, in heart, in words and in deeds that means making a very painful but conscious effort to have/harbor no evil thought towards the person or group who has wronged you!

David does exactly that - He asks God to clean him up of everything evil, even hidden sins, presumptuous sins. Stuff we do without knowing. David considered it important, very important to be clear of everything. Now when God looks at David, He sees no offense in him and is ready to bring His Perfect Justice into His circumstance! So when Justice is delivered you are clear of it!


Conclusion
So, there will always be people or groups who will despise you! Seek to do wrong to you even though there is nothing you have done to offend or hurt them! Take heart and make effort and ask God to help you clear up every malice from your heart, every bitterness toward them, every single thing that is not of God, so when God's justice is dealt out, you will observe it- standing and beholding and your spirit will cry out "Holy Holy Holy are the works of my God towards me!"

Life's Not Normal...

This morning I woke up about 4:30am with 'this' thought on my head. It kept ringing in my mind as if I needed to hear it, not just once but over and over again.
I have been wondering quite a lot about my life lately. Why is it different?

I started thinking from the beginning of time, when God called Noah....all this while Noah was having a "normal" life...like all others, until one day when, "Genesis 6:13 God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth." Not only this, but that he had to build a boat...uh..on land!!!. Life didn't remain normal for him from that day on...

Then we read of Abraham, he must have been having a "normal" life at home with his parents and relatives in Us, until one day "Genesis 12:1[ The Call of Abram ] The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." Little did this man know that God meant what He said and that, this decision would change his life and the life of his descendants forever and we know what we have because of this our "faith" ancestor.

Then Joseph..another little boy who's life changed at the age of 13 when he shared, the dream God gave him. His own brothers sold him as slave to another country, but God had not abandoned this boy, God meant to keep the promise made to him through a dream. Joseph's life did not remain normal anymore.

Then there was Moses, from the day he was born, God had chosen him to represent and lead His people. The day God met him at the burning bush, his life did not remain normal...he was to go stand before the pharoah and demand God's people be set free and lead them to the promised land. He did not have the normal life from the day he took up his duties given by God.

Then another little boy, a shepherd boy, his life changed from the normal, when the man of God Samuel approached him and anointed him (in spite of there being a king in Israel, Saul, at that time) according to God's command. ...

Moving on to the latter times in the Bible, Saul- he thought he was doing a good thing by killing the Christians..until the time Acts 9:4 "He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"...and then his life did not remain "normal" anymore.

Whatever we think of as a "normal" life, does not remain normal anymore when our God enters in, it does not make sense until God's full plan is revealed. It makes no sense at all when you're just starting or halfway in the plan, but until the end is revealed. The world has fallen drastically so God has to change people's lives drastically for us to come out of our "normal" lives and appreciate the pleasant and perfect will of God, which only God can explain....in the end. Does it make sense that Jesus, God's only Son had to die for people who didn't know Him, was that big a sacrifice needed? We know it did, and was a valuable thing for us. Our lives, no matter how abnormal it may seem, no matter how inexplicable certain turns in life may seem, God knows the outcome of it all and He knows it is beautiful. For Noah, he saved his entire family from flood, as well as the creatures of the earth on that boat. For Joseph, he saved his family from famine and the people of Egypt during drought. For Moses, his life brought deliverance for the Israelites from Egypt. For David, a throne was established for the Israelites, that which would never lack a king...and would be the predecessor of the Great and Mighty King to come. For Jesus, his life became the cause of Salvation for the entire human kind.

David Recovered All

Background:Now that David had spared Saul's life a second time, he decided to move outside the country so that Saul would not follow him any more. He shifted to Gath, a Philistine territory. Here he stayed for 1 year and 4 months and had very good rapport with the Philistine king. One day the king decided to attack Israel and wanted David and his men to be on his side. But the other Philistine leaders did not want David to go. They didn't trust David like their king did. They convinced the king, that David might just change sides in the middle of the battle and the Israelites would win. So the king sent David and his men back to Ziklag where they had been given place to stay. 3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. "(1 Samuel 30:3-4). In the midst of all this " 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. "(1 Samuel 30:6)
David does not sit in this sorrow for long, "7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue." "(1 Samuel 30:7-8) We see David went to the One he knew as a Very Present Help in the times of trouble, and he got an answer for his situation and then David took action on whatever God had told him.

Lessons:How many of us would be so glad to go somewhere, summoned by someone, travelling 3 days with them and being sent back without making much of all that travel.Only to travel back another 3 days and then finding that your house, your family is all gone as someone attacked it. This is devastating, it is a time for bitterness, blaming someone for all that harm. Thats what all the other men who went with David did. They prepared to stone David for all that damage. Now, I think about David, what would he have thought, "God , since the day you anointed me, people have been trying to kill me. I don't have a stable place to stay." It could have been easy for David to blame God for all this. But David knew, what he had to do. He took strength in the Lord. He went to God, he prayed about it, he took the priestly position God had given him and got his answer.Too many times in life when we're struck by situations we never would have wanted to be in, we find someone to blame, if we find no one, we blame God. I'd like to establish a few points here as I have learnt from this episode from David's life.

1. Know where your answer comes from- David knew his relation with the Lord, nothing could shake him off of that connection, no wonder he is the "man after God's own heart"(Acts 13:22). He took strength in the Lord. Once and for all, lets establish, secure, fasten, embed in our hearts, who we are in our Lord Jesus Christ and Who Jesus Christ is to us, we will always be a victor, like David.
2. Know to differentiate/respond-David knew, his fight was not against the people who were trying to kill him, he was thinking higher than that...he was thinking of God's enemies not his own. He knows who could help him find out the solution to the problem.He got the ephod, took his priestly position and found the answer straight from the source of his strength.He didn't wait to try to pacify the people, or to fight them and justify himself.
3. Take your position-David wore the ephod and took the priestly position and inquired of God. In my life too, I've learnt to depend more on God recently, more now than ever. There is no other go. I would have depended on my own strength and abilities earlier, but now no more. David showed me, that under dire circumstances, with no way out, just when things were looking up everything goes down, He trusted God. He runs to Him. He finds the answer, in God, the Ever Present Help.
4. Get your answer from the Ever Present Help- "v8 The Lord answered him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all." David got the answer and did what was needed of him, he went after the Amalekites and recovered ALL. When God speaks and calls us overcomers, we are! Our answer to situations are in the Word of God. The Word of God has it all, if only we look it up prayerfully, with an expectation that God only can answer. From my experience I can tell, I have never , ever not found an answer I needed for a situation. God is amazing. He solves problems right from the roots not superficially.
5. Follow through with the answer you got-God told David that he could go and fight the Amalekites and that He would be successful. David went ahead and did just that. If he would have stayed doing nothing, I think he would end up fighting his followers, but because he took the step of calling out to the Ever Present Help. He is a winner. God never shows you answers that will not work. There is no situation too hard for the Lord, nothing too difficult for the Lord.Nothing impossible for the Lord. The only point of failures are us, when we fail to act upon God's Word for our situation.

Conclusion:Let's turn our life towards victory. Only our obedience and the depth of relationship with our Living God can achieve that. David was faced with a gruesome experience right here, but he went to God and got it all turned out for victory. The Bible records as saying "18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, "This is David's plunder." (1 Samuel 30:18-20). Do you have someone stolen by the enemy that belongs to you and our Living God. (Psalm 24:1) The earth and everything in it belongs to our God. Hey people of God, strengthen yourselves in the strength of the Lord and take back what satan took from you. I am reminded of the Sunday School song.
"I am going to the enemy's camp, I'm gonna take back what he took from me" he's under my feet, he's under my feet, he's under my feet, the devil is under my feet."
God's people, take back, IT IS YOUR PLUNDER...like it was David's Plunder" DAVID RECOVERED ALL and SO CAN YOU. Lets get on our knees, wear our ephod (like wearing Jesus Christ our Lord) and ask of God the key, the answer, to get back what is ours. Unlike David's our battle is not against flesh and blood, but like David 'We will recover all'.

The Word of God has Power to Set You Free

So many things to take care of, so many people against him, thats what David's life has become after being anointed. It looks so much like a believers' life, suddenly problems crop up, people tink you're crazy or dangerous to them. We lose good friends sometimes, for some even the family turns against them for following Jesus.
In 1 Samuel 26 Saul again goes after David. In the night when all were sleeping David even gets a chance to kill Saul again, only this time "12So David took the spear and the bottle of water from Saul's head, and they got away. And no man saw or knew or wakened, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them." (1 Samuel 26:12) David did not kill Saul again, even though his friend with him told him it was an opportunity from God." 8Then said Abishai to David, God has given your enemy into your hands this day. Now therefore let me smite him to the earth at once with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.
9David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him; for who can raise his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?"(1 Samuel 26:8-9)

Lessons:
Though the offer that Abishai gave David at this time seemed so correct. God did tell David for other things, go conquer the enemy for I have given them over to you and then when David went and fought against the enemy he would win.
Why was this case different from the others? How come David couldn't kill Saul, when all of Saul's body guards were sleeping so deeply. Well we all know its because David feared God and God had forbidden to harm His anointed, and Saul was infact anointed by God at one point.

How then did David make the right choice?- Well clearly we know that he knew God's commands and statutes. This knowledge of God's commands from before, helped David in this situation to be holy and obedient to God's command. He waited on God to fight on his behalf, for God to do whatever was right to be done to Saul.

What is it to you and me?

1. The Word of God is imperishable and enduring-1 Peter 1:23 (Whole Chapter) For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. Nothing can stand against and remain, ONLY the Word of God stands forever.
2. If you want to win life's battles and show yourself a winner you need the SWORD of the Spirit, that is our weapon, THE WORD OF GOD-Ephesians 6:17 (Whole Chapter) says "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." How can one stand in a battle without their weapon, that's silly, so why go on being silly

So what are we doing, keeping the most powerful Word in the UNIVERSE, under our pillows, on the bookshelf, top of the refrigerator???

God's people it is time we changed our lives by the Powerful Word of God and see what God would do for His people who believe. The Bible says "1 John 2:5 (Whole Chapter) But if anyone obeys his word, God's love [ Or word, love for God] is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. " People who obey the Word of God have love in their life, they truly know what love is and it will shine out through their lives. Not only will our own lives be transformed, but also the lives of people who come in contact with us, the Love of God will rub off on them. Oh they will be able to differentiate from the common selfish love to the agape Love. Oh boy if we really get serious, with such amounts of love( assuming that every believer in the world does this) , the world truly would be like "Days of heaven on earth"

To be an Overcomer, you will need something to overcome!!

So you want to be an overcomer, but want nothing to overcome??? That doesn't happen.
I am reading from David's life, Saul is impressed by David's victory over Goliath and "5 Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully [a] that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well. "(1 Samuel 18:5). Later on Saul becomes jealous of David and tries to kill him. Saul is still king of the Israelites. I was wondering, is it too difficult for a king to kill someone in his own country? I think if the president of some country wanted someone from their country dead, it wouldn't be that difficult for him to find and kill that person. However in David's life its amazing to note, that right under one roof, there were the king and his men to kill David and right there we see Jonathan and Michal who love David sooo much. Why was David so dangerous to Saul? David has realised what He can do when he works in obedience, to an Almighty Living God. When Saul tries to tell David before his fight with Goliath "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." (1 Samuel 17:33) Remember what he said "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (1 Samuel 17:35). This verse tells me the amount of confidence David had in the Living God and how close he is with God, to so boldly declare of a relation with God in whatever he does, knowing that he is being guided by a Living God. Moreover in the later chapters we read, that Saul got so jealous of David's victories, that he tried to kill him several times, but David escaped all the times.

Lessons I learnt

1. Know Who the Lord is to you- David was so confident about his being in the army of the Living God, thought technically David was not in the army of Israel, he was still a boy, but he knew to Whom he belonged, or rather to which side he belonged...remember the song, I am on the winning side and Jesus is the Winner Man" Can we identify ourselves being in the army of the Living God?
2. Hold onto the confidence you have in the Lord-Hebrews 10:35:"35Do not, therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward." Saul told David that he was a mere boy, and had no experience in warfare, yet he held onto the confidence he had in the Lord that the Lord would deliver him. Irrespective of what size and weight he is, he knows a God who can deliver him. Can we identify ourselves as people who have a Mighty God for our deliverer from ALL troubles?
3. No one can defeat God's plan for our lives other than us-When we live in total obedience to God's will and plan for our lives, no one can prevent us from becoming all that God has planned for us to be. God had desired David to be king, Saul tried to kill David so many times, hurling his spear at him, or sending men to his house to kill him, he never succeeded. When God has planned for David to be king and David has decided to follow God's plan, nothing can come in between them. So for us, as long as we are following God exactly on the way that He shows us, nothing can harm us. Thats why the command that God gave Joshua Joshua 1:7-9:7 "Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
   8This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good [a]success." Can we identify ourselves as followers of a Living God, come what may?
4. Trouble, trouble everywhere but not one that can harm David- David was having a peaceful life shepherding the flock, until the time he got anointed to be king. Well God's Holy Spirit came on him to work wonders through him, to make him victorious in all he did and to tranform him to be the kind of king that God wanted him to be. Then there was this king Saul, who wanted to kill him, David spent half of his anointed life, running and trying to hide from the king who was wanting to kill him. He could not harm the king because David respected God's anointing on any man, he respected God soo much. Well, it cannot be hidden, whenever God anoints His people and the people desire solely to follow God's commands, we'll have even more oppression than we've ever had before. I don't think I'd like to call it a price to pay for being anointed, but its an opportunity to see how God will work in a totally yielded life and bring us victoriously into the place where he promised to take us and to being the person God wants to make us. Can we identify ourselves working with a Living God, who will throw obstacles away from our path as we move to a higher place? Its like take off time, the initial run on the ground is jittery and uncomfortable, until we're airborne and no ground can touch us, no more jittery feeling, just calm sailing, well a few air pockets here and there thats all, but the plane has overcome the major force of friction from the ground.Every other friction now is just tiny compared to what has already passed.

Conclusion:Following a Living God is not easy or difficult, but it is exciting. It is a wonderful feeling of confidence to know that we're being backed up by God, because its no longer our own measly plan. And because it is God's plan for our lives and we are obedient to what God has for us, there is nothing that can thwart or change or damage God's plan for our lives. I once again quote Job in saying "2I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained or thwarted." (Job 42:2). I used to be afraid of God's plans earlier, its like losing control, not knowing what will happen next, even though God says "11For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome."(Jeremiah 29:11 Amp) Until one day, I knew there was nothing better I could do with my life, I would just be an ordinary person, working in a big company, serving only the clients, being good at my job, getting raises and then one day vanish from this planet having done nothing of 'real' benefit to anyone. You know when God touches a life, and that life stays in touch with God, that person's life-impact goes on beyond his/her grave. Their lives impact lives, beyond their earthly timeline.

When God anoints His people...

1 Samuel 16-19
Samuel was very sad that Saul has now moved away from God, God encouraged Samuel and sent him to anoint Jesse's son David(1 Samuel 16:1), to be the next king of Israel. Samuel knew that God has chosen someone else, who would obey God fully, 'a man after God's own heart'. After David has been anointed, he carries on doing his normal job of tending his father's sheep. There is nothing special that has happened to him yet. He didn't move to any palace.The one major thing that happened was," 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. ..."(1 Samuel 16:13). In the mean while, an evil spirit is tormenting Saul and one of his servants suggests "18One of the young men said, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who plays skillfully, a valiant man, a man of war, prudent in speech and eloquent, an attractive person; and the Lord is with him."(1 Samuel 16:18). Now David started playing music before Saul so that he would be comforted and Saul (the current king) liked David very much. " 22Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David remain in my service, for he pleases me."(1 Samuel 16:22) and David got a part time job at the king's palace for the Bible says in 1 Samuel 17:15 " 15But David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem."

Lessons I learnt

1. God's anointing transforms people-( NOTE:Meaning of Anoint-(a) To apply oil, ointment, or a similar substance to. (b)To put oil on during a religious ceremony as a sign of sanctification or consecration. (c)To choose by or as if by divine intervention.) When God anoints He is choosing that person and setting them apart for His work only. What did that do to David? That did not change his job, his looks, his environment. It changed David as a person.(In my next post we'll see how David was changed, an example from his life). So what God chooses His people for His work, it changes them from the inside, their outside world remains the same, but inside them now dwells the Powerful Spirit of the Almighty Living God, Who gives them the power to change the situations they are in, so that God's will, will be done through their lives...from this moment on.
2. Once God has chosen you, He makes sure that for whatever purpose He has called you is arranged.-Now once David was anointed to be king, he has to be trained in every aspect so he becomes a wonderful king. An opening comes up from the king's palace to pla music before the king. Now, I don't think its a mere coincidence that the servant mentioned David as a musician when the king was being vexed by the evil spirit.God prepared an opening so that David would start getting acquainted to being in a palace, so David gets to work at the palace.
3. The transition from the old to the new is made smooth as we obey- For David, just because he was working at the king's palace as a special musician to play whenever the king was troubled by the evil spirit, was not the only thing he did. He was also feeding his father's sheep, running errands for his father, taking lunch boxes to his brothers to the battle field. I think there will be one special task that God will show you to do, apart from whatever you were already working on.

Conclusion: Did you know that you are anointed of God when you became part of the family of God? 1 Peter 2:9 (Whole Chapter) "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Did you know that we have assignments, like David had, as we move in the direction of our calling? Ephesians 2:10 (Whole Chapter) "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. "

God didn't just leave David at being anointed by Samuel, but God worked out things in His life to direct him towards that kingship that he was to attain. God has charted out the course of our calling...maybe to be a teacher of the Word of God, a prophet, a pastor, a deacon, a leader of a fellowship, a christian doctor, a christian lawyer, a christian engineer, a christian architect....and lots more. Now David knew that He was being anointed for some reason, and if the head priest of a nation comes and anoints you, we better know what that is for. So also, God has put in our hearts and our genetics, something that we have a passion to do, which is going to be a blessing to all others around us, in a way no other person in the world can bless. Something unique in you, which only you can do. If we have been paying attention to the way our lives are changing since the day we accepted Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour, we will know for sure where we're headed. I say the key is to listen to the voice of God's Holy Spirit, which God has put inside of us, to help us become fully what God wants us to become.

"for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. " Philippians 2:13 (Whole Chapter)

"If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work". 2 Timothy 2:21 (Whole Chapter)

"so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:17 (Whole Chapter)

" equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:21 (Whole Chapter)

Obedience Better Than Sacrifice

Everything in Saul's life as king started well, until the time, he started disobeying God.

The beginning of being a king-Saul

1. Samuel anoints Saul-1 Samuel 10:1
2. Saul was filled with the Spirit of God and became a different man and even prophesied-1 Samuel 10:6-10
3. Anointed people went with Saul, as he started his term to be king, after being publicly elected as king by Samuel. ( 1 Samuel 10:26)
4. Saul rescued the city of Jabesh, the Spirit of the Lord led Saul to win-(1 Samuel 11:6)

The beginning of disobedience(1 Samuel 13)

The Philistines were gathered together to fight against the Israelites.Samuel had asked Saul to wait for seven days, until Samuel comes and leads them in the sacrifice to the Lord. The enemy was large(about 6000-numerous,1 Samuel 13:5). The soldiers in the Israelites camp started trembling at the sight. They were so scared they started scattering. Saul thought sacrifice would help them win the battle. He did not wait for Samuel to come, and performed the sacrifice himself.The reason Saul gives is "1 Samuel 13:12 I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."

Analysing the fall

1. Saul gave more importance to a ritual, than to obedience to God- He thought, the sacrifice would help him out of the situation and give him favor with God, here's where we hear the most precious words from Samuel "To obey is better than sacrifice".Sometimes, in our christian life too, we start thinking of the rituals, whatever they be, are more important than obeying God. Of course the rituals or functions are set so that we may have orderliness and not for creating favor with God. Just by doing 5 extra sacrifices a day, I will not get any closer to God. God had asked Saul, to wait for 7 days, Saul could not even fulfil that simple command. He thought sacrifice is what pleases God.
2. Later on in 1 Samuel 15- we see that, when God had asked Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, with nothing to be spared, Saul spares the best ones, so that he could sacrifice to the Lord.

Lesson I learnt

Saul got severely caught up with rituals and sacrifice which led to his disobedience. He was soooo much into sacrificing and the performance of those rituals, that he didn't have any more space to listen to what God was saying. I think I was a kind of Saul one time, I was so involved with ritualistic christianity, that to me without that, life with the Lord wouldn't work. No wonder I wasn't hearing much from the Lord. Until one day, the Lord showed me that He delights in my obedience, more than my sacrifice. So what does it mean? Should I no longer follow the rituals? Well I don't think so. Its only us, that start giving importance to things, that weren't meant to be given God's place in our lives. God gave us the sun and the moon and the stars so we could get light during the day and a night lamp for the night. That doesn't mean we start worshipping them and make them, to be higher than their creator.

I am learning, now, to be careful in obedience. For right now, I know God is waiting on me to see if I will be more obedient than anything else. I've got to wait, though I long for my breakthrough, and see how God works out everything for me, for my petition is made to the Lord and I know He will not rest until that is taken care of. So for you too, I pray for the reader who's waiting like me for their breakthrough, be it 7 days or 70, will we be able to wait till the time is due for us, or are we going to rush up things on our own, like Saul did?

In the meanwhile....God is working

Time and time again, now, the more I read, the more there are instances of God working behind the scenes, even before an event happened. God prepares the future, that will be the best for his people, he knows what they will ask, and has already prepared an answer. He's not surprised, by their disobedience, but prepares a way out for them into obedience and life....not now and then...but ALL THE TIME. Its only up to us to choose the right things, in obedience to our Lord Jesus, that God's perfect will may be done.

I am reading 1 Samuel 8-9 where Saul is going to be anointed. The Israelites asked for a king, so that they'd be like all other nations.Now talking about being like other nations, I am strongly reminded of Jesus comparing us to salt and light. Why would Jesus pick these 2 things from our seen world to compare believers in Jesus with. I think, because when either the salt or light is missing, we know it. We know, because salt gives the food its taste and light shows the way. Its a powerful comparison. So we were never made to get so dissolved that we're not seen, but that in spite of being dissolved into something, we would exist, we could be tasted and seen, by others. They could see our life and experience God's power through our lives.

Here Israelites asked for a king, God was not very happy with their choice, but knew it would come, and gave them their choice. In the meanwhile, somewhere in one corner, Saul was growing in the Benjamite tribe. Now, one day Saul lost the donkeys he had, his father asked him to go look for them with one of the servants. These 2 could not find the donkeys, the servant suggests that they go meet Samuel, who could tell them where the donkeys went. Saul did not want to go at first, on account he did not have any gift to give Samuel. However the servant said, he had some money and they went.In the meanwhile, God has already told Samuel that Saul was going to come to meet him, and also told him what Samuel was to do with Saul.(1 Samuel 9:15). "When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people." (1 Samuel 9:17).

Lessons I learnt:

1. God can give you what you ask, but that may not be the best God had in mind for you- The Israelites asked for a king, God did not approve of it, but then God knew it was coming and had gave them their desire. The people would realise only later that this was a wrong choice.
2. So we goofed up, no worries, God's got you covered-Israelites would be troubled by the king only years later, God by then had a king ready for them, king David, the king after God's own heart.God knows what you're going to choose, but at every choice you make, even if it be in disobedience, God keeps a way open for you to return to Him, if only we would return. The return path to God, from disobedience to obedience and life, is always open, never shut. If we made a wrong choice ever in our life, know this, that God's plan still stands good, He can direct our ways towards the right direction as per His perfect plan, IF we are willing to let go and let God.The prodigal son, really went the wrong way, in his own free will, but his father did not despise him or make fun of him when all was lost. When the son returned, the father who waited for him daily, greeted him and took him back in his plan. How much more our Father in heaven.
3. In the meanwhile...God was working out a plan-The plan for the Israelites was laid down so much earlier, before they would go through it. God knew the points in history, where the Israelites would go away from Him. In the meanwhile God would prepare a deliverer for them someplace else, in another background.These are God's people, the Israelites. They also made some good decisions and some, not good. They lived in serious obedience and in severe disobedience too, yet in all these when I read the Word of God I find how beautifully God has orchestrated everything, that a God of Israel is now a God of Americans, Indians, Australians. Hey y'all can we see!!! God opened up His plan for everyone in the whole world, through it all. God doesn't leave us on our own to figure out life and all that it comes up with. He's right there with us, working 'in the meanwhile'. What the enemy thought for harm, God turns into a blessing. When the enemy thought killing Jesus would mean the end, it became the point of salvation for the entire mankind.

Conclusion: God has a plan for everyone, we all, everyone belong to Him (Psalm 24:1), if only we would want God's plan for our lives, that we may be blessed and be a blessing to everyone.

"28We are assured and know that [[j]God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. "

(Amp Romans 8:28)