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Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 1 Samuel 15:24 WEB.

The Lord sent Saul, the king of Israel, on a quest, but he failed because of his fear of man. He told Saul through the prophet Samuel to completely wipe out the Amalekites. Yet, Saul conveniently "overlooked" the command of the Lord and let his men keep the best cattle and sheep as plunder. He also spared the enemy king.

The Lord wanted them all destroyed as they were probably demon-infested like the swine became in Gerasenes (Mark 5:13). Saul chose to please the people more than God, and he allowed them to keep the livestock as plunder. So they brought the demons home with them. Later, when they killed the livestock and the demons lost their current house, they wandered around until they could enter the people around them (Luke 11:24).

Samuel told Saul, "Because you have rejected Yahweh's word, he has also rejected you from being king." Then Saul pleaded with Samuel to stay so he wouldn't be embarrassed in front of the people. "What will the people think" was at the forefront of King Saul's mind, not that he had just lost the kingship. After this, God moved on and anointed David as king. Saul was fearful and failed, but David had a strong faith in God and even faced Goliath as a youth when neither Saul nor anyone in his army would.

A mentor of mine worked at an electronics repair shop in Chicago when he was a young man. One day his boss told him to replace a particular part on every radio that came in, whether it needed it or not, because the part was inexpensive and had a good markup. He silently ignored the request. After a couple of weeks, the boss noticed he wasn't seeing the additional charge on the invoices, so he asked my friend why the part wasn't being replaced as he had told him.

My friend was married with young children at home and really needed the job, but he stood his ground and explained to the boss that he was a Christian and couldn't do that. He told them he would understand if they needed to let him go, but he couldn't compromise on this, for it was wrong to charge people for something they didn't need. It was against his faith.

At first, they became angry, and he thought he was on his way out the door. Then instead of firing him, they promoted him and gave him a key to the shop because they knew he could be trusted.

If you ever have to choose between obeying God or man, always choose God. It will work out for your good regardless of what may happen in the short term. He has your back when you are obedient to His word. The fear of man may bring short-term gain, but God's plan is for eternity.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please guide me today and help me make the right decisions. Let Your voice ring through in such a way that I cannot miss it. Please give me the grace and wisdom to do what is right today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13) ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network. If you are interested in joining the prayer team, here is how to get started Prayer Partners.