THURSDAY October 3, 2019
Deeply Distressed
Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”
1 Samuel 28:15
Saul had asked the woman who was a medium to bring up Samuel so he could inquire of him. She was shocked when that happened. Samuel asked Saul, “Why did you bring me up from here?” Notice Saul’s words, he was deeply distressed, past all hope, and his words imply his emotional state. Even a psychologist could pick up on Saul’s state of mind.
What was the reason for Saul’s deep distress? It really comes down to his disobedience. He did not obey the voice of the Lord, neither did he execute God’s fierce wrath upon Amalek (1 Samuel 28:18). Saul did not get rid of Amalek. Saul was always excusing himself of his sin. Saul was governed by his flesh––his carnal desires, and it had led him to a place of deep distress and, ultimately to a place of judgment.
Understand, there will always be a fierce battle between our flesh and the spirit. Christians need to reckon the old man, the sinful man, to be dead to sin:
Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts (Romans 6:11-12).
Seriously, if you do not keep your flesh under control, your flesh will destroy you!
We don't have to follow Christ. The choice is ours. But if we choose to follow Him there is a cross—our cross—to bear. It's the instrument of self-death. You can't follow Christ without daily bearing that cross.
~A.W. Tozer~
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