Looking beyond the mess in this world.
As deception, government corruption, violence, and lawlessness increase in our world, it becomes difficult at times to hang on to our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing. How do we keep our focus on the Rapture during these perilous times?
Although this may sound a bit bizarre at first, a story about Israel’s first king provides encouragement for those of us weary of waiting for our “blessed hope.”
Those familiar with King Saul know that he’s not a stellar example to follow. First Samuel 13 records his failure to wait for Samuel; his sin on this occasion became a critical turning point in his reign.
The excuses that Saul gave to the prophet in defending his impatience on this occasion, however, reveal where his thinking went awry and conversely provide us with valuable insight for the times when we become impatient waiting for the Lord.
I first wrote about this story many years ago during a difficult time in my life when I needed help in waiting for the Lord; I later included it in my book, The Bad Guys of the Bible.[i]
In just the past week, I began to see how the king’s lame excuses on this occasion reveal a thought process that we also must avoid if we are to keep our eyes on the prize before us, our “blessed hope.”
Focus on Christ, Not the Messy Circumstances
First Samuel 13:1-7 records the impossible circumstances facing Saul and the Israelites as the king waited for Samuel. The king had just six hundred men with him and to make matters worse, only Saul and Jonathan had a sword or a spear because the Philistines had taken them away along with their blacksmiths (1 Samuel 13:19-22).
First Samuel 13:5 tells us about the overwhelming threat the king’s small band of soldiers faced:
“Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude.”
In this dire situation, the Lord, through the prophet Samuel, had instructed the king to wait seven days. At that time, Samuel would offer a sacrifice and give him instructions regarding the peril that Israel faced. Saul, however, became impatient and offered the sacrifice before the prophet’s arrival.
Samuel confronted Saul’s disobedience with a simple yet probing question, “What have you done?”
In response, Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Micmash, . . . I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering” (1 Samuel 13:11-12). As he waited for the prophet’s arrival, Saul fixed his attention on his deserting army, Samuel’s delay, and the huge force assembling against Israel.
Saul saw only his impossible situation. He did not consider the Lord or His purpose amid the dangers confronting him.
As we wait upon Jesus in whatever situation we find ourselves, we must also focus on Jesus rather than our messy circumstances.
We may face multiple dangers in the months ahead as the devil and his minions continue to exert more of their deadly control throughout our world. It’s easy, is it not, to focus on the various dangers looming in the future and become impatient wondering why the Lord has not yet come to rescue us?
I have found that the best antidote for my errant focus is Colossians 3:1-4. The words of this passage bring my focus back to the Lord and provide a welcome respite from the increasing perils and wickedness of our world. Verse 4 restores my focus on Jesus’ glorious appearing.
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
Avoid the Faulty Reasoning of the World
Saul’s words in 1 Samuel 13:12 reveal another area where his thinking went far off course on that fateful day. The king thought the sacrifice itself would prevent more troops from leaving him and obtain God’s favor (see 1 Samuel 13:11).
In other words, he believed that the ends would justify the means. It was okay to disobey God because of its positive outcome in keeping the troops with him. Such thinking remains popular today in our world.
For those of us awaiting Jesus’ appearing, we must also avoid the reasoning of those around us. The world would have us questions our expectation of the Lord’s soon return; “It’s been two-thousand years, why are you foolishly expecting that Jesus will return in your lifetime?”
Those opposed to our hope would have us join in their way of looking at the perils before us and believe that today is just like any other time in history. “Things will eventually return to normal apart from the Lord’s return,” they tell us.
So many of those that lead our churches have also fallen for the defective reasoning of the world. I have often heard pastors of churches that claim to be “Bible-believing” preach a sanctified version of Joel Osteen’s book, Your Best Life Now. Week after week they mimic the temporal perspective of the world by focusing the attention of the saints solely on this life alone with no reference to the eternal specifics of their hope for eternal life.
We live in the season of Jesus’ return for His church. We must trust the words of Scripture rather than our own understanding in these last days of human history (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Hold Tightly to God’s Promises
The Lord’s command for the king to wait contained a promise: when Samuel arrived on the seventh day, he would bring the king guidance for the battle; he would tell him what to do in order for God to win the battle for Israel (1 Samuel 10:8). God had a plan to deliver His people from the Philistine threat.
Saul had another assurance from God that he could have relied upon that fateful day. In the process of selecting Saul, the Lord told Samuel that this king would “save my people from the hand of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 9:16).
The king disobeyed because he chose to ignore God’s specific promises.
In whatever situation we find ourselves, it’s essential that we know Scripture and hold on tightly to its promises.
During the dark years of my life as I experienced heartache after heartache, I discovered the value of a firm grasp on the promises of Scripture. It wasn’t enough for me just to know about the reassuring words of Psalm 27, I memorized them and read them every morning for months.
Such a firm grip on Scripture is also vital as we await the Lord’s appearing to take us to the place that He’s preparing for us. I have already read 1 Corinthians 15:20-58, Philippians 3:13-21, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, Titus 2:11-15, and Romans 8:18-25 many times this year. There’s something about seeing these words on the pages of the Bible that reassures me of Jesus’ imminent appearing and keeps my focus on what Jesus has promised regarding my future.
As our world grows increasingly perilous by the day, it’s not enough just to know about eternal life; it’s essential that we hold tightly to the biblical promises concerning the specifics of our amazing hope. Jesus will not fail to keep His promises regarding the event that we refer to as the Rapture. Of that we can be absolutely certain.
Trust God’s Person, Not Religious Behavior
For a long time, I wrestled with another aspect of the excuses that Saul offered to Samuel for His impatience. Something was amiss in his faulty attempt at worship; but at first, I couldn’t identify it. Suddenly it occurred to me that the king was treating the Lord as though He was a good-luck charm rather than a living and personal Being.
Saul’s excuses reveal that his hope for success rested in the sacrifice itself rather than in the One to whom he was seeking to worship. Saul trusted a religious exercise to deliver Israel rather than God Himself. He didn’t stop to consider that victory rested solely with the very One he was disobeying.
The king treated God as though He were a vending machine. Do the right things for a predictable outcome just like putting money into vending machine and receiving a candy bar.
Activities such as prayer, Bible study, and worship are of course essential for our walk with the Lord. However, when the tragedies and afflictions of life beset us, it’s the Lord, the object of our worship and faith, who provides the needed strength and comfort during these dark times.
We are already His precious children; we do not need to force Him to lovingly act on our behalf with our “religious behavior.” He’s already doing that each and every moment of our lives!
The same is true in regard to our waiting upon the Lord’s appearing. He’s committed to bringing us safely to glory; He will not fail to do so. As we wait, we can relax knowing that His timing will be perfect.
The majority of church leaders today place their hope in things other than Jesus imminent return. One group falsely teaches that their efforts to pray 24/7 will itself enable the church to rise up and become triumphant throughout the coming Tribulation period and bring in the Lord’s kingdom.
Even in churches that claim to be “premillennial,” it seems as though pastors have become impatient in waiting for the Jesus’ appearing and lift up the church itself as the hope of the saints. Is this not also a form of trusting “religious activity” such as King Saul did long ago? I think so.
The church is not destined to become a “shining city on a hill” in the midst of adversity during these last days of human history as we know it. The Bible tells us that our ultimate deliverance from this evil day will be the Rapture, not a triumphant church. Yet I have heard this false hope often from the pulpits in America.
What do all the above points have in common? Jesus.
Jesus is the One we are waiting for. It all comes down to trusting Him, His timing, and His promises to us.
Bible study, prayer, worship, and corporate gatherings of the saints are of course essential as we wait, but these things are meant to draw us closer to the Savior and never become the means for us to force our agenda on the world or even our timing on the Savior.
I know how easy it is to copy the faulty reasoning of King Saul. I began studying him because I found that I had become a lot like him as a young pastor and wanted to avoid his disastrous mistakes.
For far too long, I erroneously believed that the Lord would automatically bless me because I went to seminary and followed His leading into the pastorate. It was a rude awakening for me to discover that such was most definitely not the case. However, after taking me through many years of hardship and affliction, He has blessed me in ways I never could have imagined.
Regardless of where your suffering takes you, please remember that eternity is your ultimate hope. There we will all share in glories that will far surpass any earthly outcome we can imagine. And this glorious time begins with the Rapture. It’s our deliverance!
Our future is all about Jesus. Keep your eyes on Him and His return. Trust His timing!
Maranatha!! Come soon, Lord Jesus!
My new book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is now available on Amazon.
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[i] The main points of this article come from my book, The Bad Guys of the Bible – And What they teach us about Walking with God. This is a self-published book and is available only on Amazon. This book looks at the lives of several men in the Bible whose temporal focus on life caused them to make bad decisions.