But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, “Never mind; let’s get going!” 1 Samuel 14:19
This phrase describes the urge we all feel when under pressure: Don’t just stand there … do something!
The tendency to panic under pressure is universal. Much better advice would probably be don’t do anything … just stand there! Things would have gone drastically better for a king whose story is found in the Bible—if he would have only just stood there.
In the story, things were bad for the Israelite people. Saul was their first king, and Scripture records that their enemy had “as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore!” The Israelites were trembling with fear. Saul needed God’s prophet, Samuel, to come offer a burnt offering and ask for God’s help. After seven days Samuel still hadn’t shown up. “Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away,” so he disobeyed God and lit the offering fire himself. With that act of disobedience, Saul’s kingdom ultimately went up in flames.
In a later battle Saul did call a priest for guidance. Scripture records, “But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the [enemy] camp grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, ‘Never mind; let’s get going!’“ (1 Samuel 14:19)
Saul wasn’t willing to wait on God. Whether he panicked from fear or jumped into action because he thought he could handle things himself, Saul derailed the powerful plan that God had for his life. And God’s prophet told him: “Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols. Because you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you as king” (1 Samuel 15:23).
What’s our takeaway? In crisis, stand there and wait for God.
