1 Samuel 14:18-19 (NLT) Then Saul shouted to Ahijah, “Bring the ephod here!” For at that time Ahijah was wearing the ephod in front of the Israelites. But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, “Never mind; let’s get going!”

On day, Jonathan and his armor-bearer went down to the Philistine camp. The Philistines had once again come to make war with the armies of Israel. Saul was king then and he had no idea that Jonathan had left the Israelite camp. Jonathan, prompted by the Lord, had faith and thought to himself that perhaps God would help them, since he knew that no one would be able to oppose the Lord. It turns out that this was God leading him to do this and when Jonathan and his armor-bearer charged into the Philistine camp, they killed the first twenty Philistines that they encountered. This sent a panic throughout the entire Philistine camp. To add to all the confusion, the Lord sent an earthquake as well. At this, total chaos broke out with the Philistines even turning on and killing each other.

When King Saul heard all the uproar, he immediately called for a roll call of the army and found out that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were missing. He immediately called for Ahijah the priest to inquire of the Lord. But the uproar got even louder and that's when King Saul decided to go and quickly join the fray without seeking the Lord's guidance. Although the Israelites enjoyed a victory that day against their enemies, bad things began to happen as well. Saul foolishly pronounced a curse on anyone who dared to eat anything until all the Philistines were destroyed, meaning that anyone who did so would be put to death. Jonathan, who did not know about his father's decree, found some honey and ate it and was renewed in his strength. The army was so exhausted and hungry that they didn't get to destroy all of the Philistine army. Saul found himself in the awkward position of thinking that he had to put his own son, Jonathan, to death because of his edict. Thankfully, the men of Israel intervened and prevented Saul from killing his son. King Saul had found a way to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. By not first inquiring of the Lord because "there wasn't enough time," he made a foolish decision that minimized the total victory that they could've had and he almost committed a horrible sin in killing his own son. He should have waited and inquired of the Lord.

Life in our modern-day world in on hyper-speed and everyone is rushing to get things done and to deal with whatever comes their way. Even followers of Christ get caught up in the frenzy of life. Many times, this causes us to launch into a decision or an action without first consulting the Lord about it. We tell ourselves that there just isn't enough time to wait on the Lord and pray because something needs to be done immediately. A lot of the urgency that we feel about decisions and actions is unnecessary. There are few things in life that demand action right away and when we forge ahead without direction from God, we inevitably pay the price. Don't make the same mistake that King Saul did. Get direction from the Lord about everything, especially those important things that seem so urgent. Nothing is so urgent that is worth moving forward without God's covering. There should never be a time where you have no time to ask God. Seek the Lord about everything and let Him deal with the urgency of the times. He is the perfect expert at it and is always right on time.

Pastor Joey Vazquez