Stand Still And Watch The Salvation Of The Lord

MESSAGE:

Stand still and watch the salvation of the Lord.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE:

In 1st Samuel Chapter 13 lies the story of King Saul. In summary, King Saul took for himself 3,000 men of Israel to go to war against the Philistines. When they attacked the Philistines, the Philistines retaliated with 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and foot soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Then the army of the Philistines went up to fight against the army of Israel.

The army of Israel began to grow frightened and they all ran away to hide in caves because they feared they would be defeated by the enemy, since they were outnumbered. Saul even began to grow timid because he was expecting the prophet Samuel to come to his rescue with a word from the Lord to let him know if he would be given the victory over the enemy or not, but Samuel did not come within the 7 days that was set for him to come.

So, being intimidated, Saul went to offer a burnt offering and a peace offering to God, to inquire of the Lord. This was unlawful for him to do, not only because he was the king, but because he was from the tribe of Benjamin, and not from the tribe of Levi. Only the Levites were entrusted by God to offer sacrifices to God. Saul had moved out of position. In verse 10, it says that as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offerings to God, that’s when the prophet Samuel came.

Samuel said unto him, “What have you done?”

Saul answered Samuel, “Well, when I saw that my army men, who were supposed to have my back during wartime turning their backs on me,  and when I saw that you did not come within the days that I expected you to come, so you can give me provision, and when I saw that my enemies were gathering together against me, then I felt compelled to step out of position and offer a burnt offering to God.”

Samuel rebuked him and said, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he has commanded you.”

SUMMARY:

Sometimes, we can become  discouraged when we lose our support system, or when the people who we thought should be there for us are not there when we need them most. Sometimes, we can become  discouraged when we have prayed to God and have an expectation for him to show up in our situation, but he doesn’t show up when we expect him to show up. And sometimes, we can grow discouraged when it seems as if trouble  is encamped all around us and we fear that we will become defeated or consumed by our circumstances. In times like these, we feel as if we need to make a quick move and do something to save ourselves, even if what we do is irrational, unwise, risky, compromising or illegal.

But hold on! Be strong and courageous! Do not give in to temptation, or take a side deal! Because just like in the case with Saul and Samuel, right after you compromise, that is when God is going to show up. Ladies, if your light bill is due today and God has not come through for you yet, do not call your ex boyfriend, Jo-Jo, and invite him over and have sex with him so that he can give you the (defiled) light bill money. Don’t move foolishly. Stay in position. Fellas, if your rent is due between the 1st and the 5th, and today is the 5th, but God has not come through for you yet, do not go out in the streets to get quick (illegal) money by selling drugs so you can pay your rent. Don’t move foolishly. Stay in position.

God will sometimes delay your blessing or delay in delivering you from your situation because he is testing your faith to see if you will stand and watch the salvation of the Lord, or if you will try to save yourself by moving in the flesh. And even if he does allow your lights to get cut off or the eviction notice to be placed on your front door, just know that sometimes, for his glory, God will allow some situations in your life to dry up or to die so that he can turn around and resurrect your situation and bring it back to life!!!!

Don’t be foolish. Stay in position. Don’t move out of position because of fear or anxiety. Have faith and wait on God. Don’t compromise. No side deals. Stand still, and watch the salvation of the Lord!