13 So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. 14 He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
Wow! These are some tough words here. “So Saul died for his breach of faith.” “He did not seek guidance from the Lord”.
That seems a bit harsh, doesn’t it? That Saul would be killed because “He did not seek guidance from the Lord”. Instead, Saul sought out a medium. And it cost him his life.
God is a righteous and Holy God. He is not Santa Claus. And if we are honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that there is a little (or a lot) of Saul in us.
Saul broke faith with God, he consulted a medium, he did not seek guidance from God. As I read over those words, I saw myself clearly in this passage. God means business when he expects us to go to Him for guidance. And yet, at least for me, sometimes the very last place I go for guidance is to God. I’ll consult books, the internet, my own thinking, and friends before I get in a desperate enough state to seek God’s guidance.
Somehow, I think that must be backwards.
God loves us, He desires that we go to him for guidance. He expects us to not experience a breach of faith. O, that’s not to say that my (or your’s) faith remains constant. Many times I feel it is completely absent. But even in those situations, we dare not have a breach of faith. Instead, we must preach to ourselves the necessity of approaching God for guidance in every single area of our lives. To do so is not a magic formula, but it is the catalyst to gaining the answers to our questions, the comfort for our hearts, and the guidance in all areas of life. And it is what God wants.
He welcomes it. He desires it. He demands it.
