Soon after Saul had become King, he had to face a war with the Philistines. Samuel, the prophet, had told him that he would come at a specific time to offer sacrifices to the Lord and to inquire of the Lord as to how they should proceed. But when the time came for the prophet to show up, Samuel was nowhere to be found. When the king realized that Samuel was not showing up and because of the desperate circumstances he was facing, he decided, despite the command given by the prophet of God, to offer a sacrifice that he was not authorized to offer.  

The circumstances were dire, and you would expect that the prophet of God would keep his word and come at the appointed time – right? God had something greater in mind. God was testing Saul's heart. Would Saul put his trust in the current circumstances and operate out of fear or would he trust in God and wait for his direction. King Saul decided to take matters into his own hands and offered a sacrifice. Look at Samuel's words to King Saul. 

1 Samuel 13:13-14 "You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people because you have not kept the LORD's command." 

Wow! "A man after his own heart." God had a plan with everything under control way before any threat of war was conceived. God's all-important plan was to test King Saul’s heart because God is looking for those who will trust him no matter what the circumstances! These are the leaders that God will build a legacy of his glory through. The man that God was speaking of through Samuel was David, who would prove to be a man truly after God's heart! More than anything else, God wants you and me to trust him! 

Your most dominant thoughts and meditations of your heart declare what you are trusting in! During these times of uncertainty, most people spend the majority of their free time searching out and thinking about all the problems. The other day I heard a man say, “We need to spend more time praying than we spend on the internet reading about COVID-19.” How true! Are you meditating on the problems, or are you setting your mind on our faithful God and his precious promises?  

In my prayer for you today, I am asking God to give you more revelation of how important it is to set your mind on things above! God has everything under control! We have nothing to fear or worry about! The Bible tells us, “Do not worry or be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 May your life be one that is saturated with all that God believes about you! May you be considered as one who, like King David is after…  

GOD’S OWN HEART! 

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