Don't Panic!

Don’t Panic

1 Samuel 13:8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter.

There’s an uneasy feeling when you are waiting on your help to come and it does not come when you thought it would. Not only that, but your resources are running out. the people who are watching you as leader are trembling in fear because it is not turning out like you said it would. As a leader, you have to have the ability to keep your head while everybody else is losing theirs. Don’t panic.

Saul had assembled his men for one of their biggest battles yet. He faced about 20 thousand Philistines, when it was all said and done he had about 600 men left. Saul was waiting on the Prophet Samuel to show up and make sacrifice on behalf of the Nation of Israel so that God would give them success in the battle. Saul waiting Seven Days for Samuel to show up and bless them but he didn’t. Saul’s soldiers started scattering.

in church people vote on the leadership of the Pastor with their feet and their money. If Panic sets in a congregation they start walking out and stop giving. When Saul’s soldiers start scattering he starts panicking as if everything now depended on him. As a result Saul does three things:

1. He offers unsolicited Sacrifices. He starts killing stuff that God didn’t ordain him to kill. There are some Sacred Cows that need to be sacrificed but you can’t do it out of panic. Your timing has to be right. The seventh day wasn’t over, he still had time but he panicked.

2. He tried to manipulate God’s favor. You can’t make God bless you. God requires obedience before sacrifice. It doesn’t matter what you give up if God didn’t tell you to give it.

3. He resorts to coMmingling of responsibilities instead of spiritual discipline. As the leader you can’t abandon your responsibility to lead and start doing the job of other people. You don’t have time to leave your duties as commander-in-chief to start writing checks. Commingling literally means "mixing together". Used in a legal context it is a breach of trust in which a fiduciary mixes funds that he holds in the care of a client with his own funds, making it difficult to determine which funds belong to the fiduciary and which belong to the client. in other words, when things go bad you don’t know who to shift the blame to because it’s all mixed up. If God said he’s going to do it, then you have to stay out of it and let him do his part.

As a result of Saul panicking, Samuel gives him the consequences of his panic. God’s going to select another leader after his own heart because he was not obedient.

Saul doesn’t get the concept of ‘doing more with less.’ he sees his numbers go down and he starts panicking, but there’s hope in the camp because his son get’s it. Jonathan gets it because in the next chapter Jonathan tells his Armor bearer, “come lets’ go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.

In other words, God can do more with Less! God gave them the victory because they did not panic but the enemy started fighting each other! Why? Because in chapter 14 verse 15 it states, “because Panic struck the whole army--those in the camp and in the field...IT was a panic sent by God.” God defeated the enemy of Israel because Jonathan didn’t panic but instead he had faith that God could save by many or by few.



Dear God,

Thank you for letting me keep my head when everyone else was losing their minds. I thank you that it ain't what it looks like. We have the victory if we would only keep still. Give us the quiet confidence to wait on you.

In Jesus Name,
Amen