FOOLS RUSH IN

1 Samuel 12:1-13:23; John 7:1-30; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 15:4

“Samuel said, ‘What is this you have done?’ Saul replied, ‘I saw my men scattering from me.... So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.’ ‘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. But now your kingdom must end….’”

“Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!’ For even his brothers didn’t believe in him. Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go….’”

“My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!”

Sometimes, there are no second chances. Forgiveness aside, a done bun can’t be undone. We only have one opportunity to make a first impression. Takebacks on cutting remarks are difficult, if not impossible. Premature actions can cause a world of unnecessary hurt. Rushing into battle without proper preparation is a fool’s errand. Saul understood none of this, at least when he needed to understand. His refusal to trust God and preference for his own so-called spiritual insight clearly cost his kingdom. It’s hard to blame him, though. He was losing men by the hundreds; morale was sinking; and Samuel seemed to be taking his own sweet time getting to the battlefield to bless the troops. Saul knew what had to be done. What he missed was the fact that he was not the one to do it!

No amount of necessity or extenuating circumstances justifies anyone taking on a task for which they are not qualified. Far less is any Christian ever right to disobey orders from God. None of us should take responsibility for a job or ministry when we are fundamentally unprepared or ungifted, nor should we do so if we have not sought the Lord’s blessing and guidance first. Even knowing all this, though, my normal, stubborn reaction to any crisis is still to respond in my own power. Passivity and trust in anything or anyone other than myself (however misguided my self-trust may be) are not my strong suits. This is a deep seated spiritual blindness I’ve been working on for years. It is never more acute than when I think I am qualified to tackle the problem on my own. Solely through the grace of God have serious mistakes been avoided.

For example, after I lost my job, interviews came fast and furiously… at first. I did not realize initially that most interviewers were bottom feeders just hoping to steal a few new clients from an out of work attorney. One, in particular, was extremely encouraging and actually offered me a job. Great news! I jumped at the chance, despite a massive cut in pay and a host of other negatives I simply would not let myself consider. A paycheck is a paycheck, right? Not when it costs more than what it provides. Long story short is that that Firm had hidden major partner and financial problems which probably would have taken me down as well had I actually started work. But I didn’t. A number of things conspired to prevent it, including the end of the Firm itself shortly after I was going to start work. I’m learning never to take received grace for granted, but continue to wonder why it’s so difficult to trust the Spirit in advance. Christ has proven Himself worthy more times than I can count.

It seems there’s always just one more miraculous sign separating me from completely trusting the Father, and I doubt very much that I stand alone. But Scripture is plain that this kind of gamesmanship must stop! We need to be honest enough with ourselves to acknowledge that we either trust Jesus, or we don’t. Putting demands for security, comfort, peace or whatever ahead of trust in the Spirit to provide such things in His good time is a reversal of proper priorities of the first magnitude. It may, in fact, cost us the Kingdom. It suggests that, down deep where even we don’t usually dare to venture, we still refuse to accept and trust Christ as Lord and as Savior. This possibility rattles my personal cage right to its foundations.

I’m confident everyone called to Christ eventually faces up to this realization and becomes truly reconciled to God. This doesn’t make the subjugation of our doubts any easier ahead of time, but it does give us reason for hope. Jesus was clear that He acts only based on a timetable we do not know. He won’t be rushed. We have to accept that…, or not. In the interim, we can choose either to trust and wait on Him, or not.