Hurry Or Holy

Honor God and His holy name by living in a way and at a pace that demonstrates you trust Him and will be faithful even as you walk through the fire. 

“Saul was thirty years old when he became king, The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him. “What have you done?” asked Samuel. You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom…the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 

1 Samuel 13:1-14

At first glance, you might ask what the big deal is. Why would Samuel rebuke Saul? What Saul did, does not seem so bad. He made an offering. He sacrificed. Why would Samuel and the Lord be so upset? Saul’s greatest sin in this text is being impatient and not waiting on the Lord because it revealed a heart that did not trust God. Are you patient? Are you willing to wait for God to answer? It is hard to be in a hurry and stay holy. There is a pace to is perfected as we pursue God.

The deeper question is what do Saul’s actions say about his heart? The text says that Saul was surrounded by people who were afraid and he let fear rule his decision making. His disobedience revealed distrust. We can say we trust God, but what do our actions say about our heart when we are feeling pressure? 

Do we curse our neighbors when we are cut off in traffic? Do we get offended when someone else something unkind? This is not just a Saul issue. Every day we will endure tests and trials. Will we honor God by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us through the fire? Do our words and actions point to a Holy God and graceful Savior or do we act like the rest of the world? 

“The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name— he is holy. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the Lord and he answered them.”

Psalms 99:1-3, 5-6 

The key to this passage is in the first three words. The Lord reigns.  Do we believe this? When we face trials and tribulations, do we still believe that God has the power and his plan will prevail? Or do we begin to doubt or question whether or not God is going to deliver us from dark days? 

In a complete contrast to what Saul did, David sings of the power and holiness of God. David sang the world around me might be terrified, but I stand firm because of my God. David keeps using the holy and contrasting it with the common. Consider the difference between being saved and set apart by Jesus compared and people who do not follow his ways. Does your life look markedly different from the rest of culture?

Saul’s actions showed that his sacrifices were simply rituals. I did not point to a relationship that he trusted.  David says call on God and he will answer.  If you look back at the text with Saul. You would see that soul made his decisions based on his own understanding not by seeking the Lord.  How often do we fall into that trap? How often do we try to figure things out or find a solution rather than seeking God’s guidance so that we will honor Him with all we do? 

“I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love. Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. My beloved spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. My beloved is mine and I am his” Song of Songs 2:3-16

Think of these verses, in terms of your relationship with God. When you face a hard time, do you stay closer to him? Do you sit in his shade and let him lead you with love? God wants us to live in a love centered relationship. Perfect love casts out fear. He wants love to lead us. 

Jesus came and calls us higher. He causes us to rise above the natural reactions of the world, and learn a new way to live. Our strength, our hope, our trust is in him. If the God who created the heavens and the earth is with you and for you, why would you ever be afraid? Jesus wants to get us to a place where we say that he is mine and we are his. Where our actions, attitude, and words all reflect Him. 

“If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. I will rebuke your descendants; My covenant was with him…this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant…Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another? Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful”

Malachi 2:2-15

It’s powerful to see the connections between the texts today. The same day that Samuel rebukes Saul, God rebukes his people for not being faithful.  John talks about the same idea that our actions to each other reflect our faithfulness to God in 1 John 4. He says how can you say you love a guy who you do not see if you do not love the people around you that you do see? 

Saul’s sacrifice was rejected because it did not honor God and in this text, God says that he rejects offerings made that do not honor Him. God sees beyond our actions to the motivations of our hearts. God has no interest in you going through the motions by giving out of obligation. God loves a cheerful giver. What does God want? Godly offspring the text says.  How do we demonstrate that we are godly offspring? By trusting him and choosing to be holy and honor him by all that we do. Does your life reflect the grace, compassion, and heart of Jesus? 

“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” Revelation 12:7-17

Does it ever feel like life’s a battle?  Does it feel like you’re being attacked or accused? John wrote in this text that you have an enemy to your life who actively works against you. The good news is that God triumphs over all evil. The battle is for your heart. Will you still faithfully love God and follow him when you’re under attack? 

We join in the triumphant March, as we pick up our cross daily, walk by the blood of the lamb, and hold fast to our testimony. The text says they did not shrink from death. Think about how that compares with how Saul and the people responded when they were attacked. 

The passages all ask the same question. Does your heart belong to God? Saul’s did not. Jesus wants us to believe in Him. He wants us to choose to make him king of our hearts that we might trust and follow Him. He wants our love to be like that a song of songs where we declare that He is ours, and we are His. Jesus said that they will know you are my disciples by how you love.  

Jesus did not say they will know how you love when you’re happy, or things are easy, or life is going well. He did not say you can forget to follow Me if you are in a hurry. The real test is if you will hold fast to your testimony when life is testing you beyond what you think you can endure. When everything around you is speeding up, can you slow yourself to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit? When you’re under attack or life is amplified will you still declare that the Lord reigns?Determine in your heart how who you will live for today. Will you be holy or in a hurry? Set apart or offering a worthless sacrifice like Saul? Will you choose to be holy as God is holy and honor him? Or will you look like, sound like an act like the rest of the world around you?