Taking Things into My Own Hands

”So I took things into my own hands, and sacrificed the burnt offering.” 1 Samuel 13:12b

Saul acts outside his authority. He was supposed to wait for Samuel who was coming in a week. It was nearing the seventh day and Saul got anxious; no sign of the prophet, the sacrifice was waiting, something had to be done.

How many times have we given in to that thought: “Something has to be done!” There is no doubt that certain situations demand action. To be frozen into inaction, our hands hanging limp in a crisis is never to be preferred. But there is also great wisdom in not overreacting. There is great strength in showing the restraint to resist the impulse to force a situation forward.

Saul yields to his own impetuous nature and takes things into his own hands. It was, first of all, never the king’s right to offer sacrifices. Secondly, Samuel had told Saul to wait for him. Saul had actually told Samuel he never wanted to have the priest’s prerogatives, but, the first chance he has, he does exactly that. He sacrifices the burnt offering! His actions betray a desire for power that his words tried to mask.

We may well say we support someone’s decision, but the test truly comes when we have the chance to put our hands in the mix. If we truly support what the person has done, we will resist the temptation to make it happen quicker, better or more precisely. It is their project, and our actions need to line up with our words. Forego your impulse to need control. Let the person pursue their assignment without feeling the need to tinker with it yourself.

Saul’s misstep seems to be such a small infraction, yet it costs him the kingdom. The act is the symptom of a greater deficiency of character. Saul does not trust anyone. He thinks David is trying to kill him and imagines his own son Jonathan is conspiring with him. He is jealous of the attention David gets when he returns from battle to the point of enraged tantrums. He is what we would call a “control freak” today. Even as king, he didn’t feel like he had enough influence, and tries to take the priests’ duties as well.

He could not control the hasty prompting of his inner nature and listen instead to the methodical and certain movements of God’s Spirit. How could he any longer be God’s representative when he acts only out of what is expedient, and not out of faith? How could he be a man after God’s heart, when he was a person of constant haste and restlessness?

And how about us? Do I respond to the hasty prompting of my lower self? Does impatience drive me to act well before any action is required? Does fear cause me to speak sharply and harm relationships with those around me? Does paranoia cut me off from full and open relationships with people who care about me?

When I was young I did what many other ten to thirteen year old boys did: I put together model cars and airplanes. Impatience was my downfall. My first few attempts I just glued and fit things together the way the pictures showed. Leaving a steering wheel out, or realizing the seats had to be put in before the body was glued together, next time I actually read the instructions. Still my haste won the day. Because I couldn’t wait to see what the finished product looked like, I left the painting till last. I know now how foolish that was. The tiny inner pieces have to be painted first, before it is assembled, or paint is splattered over every part of the model.

As followers of Christ, we have even more motivation to wait. God has promised that, if we wait on Him, we will gain more strength. And, to wait, we must slow down; to slow down, we have to get our hands off the situation and show God we actually trust Him.

Restlessness and haste never are effective in God’s kingdom. God is very much in control. When we act like we must dive in for anything to happen, we are telling God that He cannot accomplish anything without our help. Last time I looked, I believe I was quite absent when God created this entire universe; I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need my assistance to keep it going.

What He does ask is that we obey. Instead of jumping in and trying to force situations to come out our way, we need to obey God’s instructions. Love your neighbor, pray for those who persecute you, humble yourself in God’s mighty hand, Love one another as Christ has loved us. If we just can’t sit still and have to do something; do some of that!

We must learn to wait on God. His timing is exact. He hardly ever comes at the point we desire because we see only so far down the road. God’s vision takes in the entire scene and He will arrive in just the right time and right way that we understand He was at work all the time. God may cause you to exercise great patience in waiting, but He will always arrive before that patience has run out.