And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”
1 Samuel 13:13–14, ESV
God’s will is not moved by force or crafty persuasion. We may pray to God and seek out guidance, but we cannot force Him to bless our actions. Saul attempted to force God’s blessing and offered a sacrifice without the priest Samuel there to do so. His impatience and not trusting in the timing of God or Samuel’s arrival made him feel that he had to take matters into his own hands. Even though he tried to paint this in a religious light, he found himself outside of God’s favor, and it is what lost him the crown, but most importantly, his favor with God was forever lost. Before this occurrence, God was with him and blessing Saul’s lordship over the people of Israel. From there, the Lord had let it be known that He would seek a man “after His own heart.” These words become the words to describe David. For us, as the people of God, we know this is the bringer of the promise of Christ. We are to be reminded of the folly of Saul and use it as a guide in our lives when we seek the guidance of the Lord. We are not to demand God to bless the paths we have planned but to seek to follow the ways He is preparing for us in our lives. When we fail, we can confidently ask for His forgiveness because of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. Seeking after God’s own heart does not mean that we will get all things perfectly, but we will seek His will in all things as imperfectly as we are able until the day we are called to meet our Lord face to face. We can neither demand nor decree that God does things, but we can humbly pray and seek His blessing in everything that we seek to do and be prepared for Him to lead us in the direction that He has prepared for us.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.