When Samuel went to present Saul to the people of Israel as their first king, Saul was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, God revealed that he was ‘hiding behind the baggage’. How many of us feel like doing the same when God calls us to do something? We often put limitations on ourselves that prevent us from tackling the job God’s given us – limitations like these: 1) Feeling like we’re not good enough. Saul’s first response when he learned he had been chosen as king was, ‘Am I not…from the smallest tribe of Israel,…the least of all?’ (1 Samuel 9:21 NIV). When we exclude God from the equation, we’ll always feel ‘less than’. Instead of focusing on our own weaknesses and inabilities, we should try to concentrate on ‘the incredible greatness of God’s power’ (Ephesians 1:19 NLT). 2) Fear of what others might think. The writer of Proverbs tells us ‘fearing people is a dangerous trap’ (Proverbs 29:25 NLT). And Saul fell headfirst into it! When Samuel confronted him for failing to destroy the Amalekites, he replied, ‘I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded’ (1 Samuel 15:24 NLT). God’s Word assures us, ‘“I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” So we can be sure when we say, “I will not be afraid because the Lord is my helper. People can’t do anything to me”’ (Hebrews 13:5-6 NCV). As soon as we claim that truth, we’ll discover that there’s nothing to be afraid of. 3) Being overly pragmatic. When he didn’t hear from God, Saul took matters into his own hands and got advice from a psychic. And after promising not to harm David, he repeatedly hunted him down. Adaptability is a good thing, but God also requires consistency and commitment from us. Even when we’re waiting for Him to answer, we can still trust that He’s in control.
