“He [Saul] waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever” – 1 Samuel 13:8-13.

WHEN SAMUEL DID not arrive at the appointed time, panic invaded the heart of Saul and a resort to human wisdom prevailed in the heat of the moment. How many of us have been there when, not only the eleventh hour has passed, but the twelfth has struck and still no move, sign or answer from God is given? Those are the most challenging tests of faith, when we fear we may have misheard God or even when it seems He has abandoned us or even ‘let us down’. Sometimes the most difficult thing a Christian soldier can do as opposed to fighting is to stand. “Having done all, stand firm” (Ephesians 6:13) – Continue to trust in the Lord, waiting patiently on Him, soberly and eagerly prepared for the next move. Reason will defy. People may scorn and mock. What a great trial when God has called you to remain steadfast in your trust in Him and everyone loses their respect of you or trust in you. It’s as if all hell confronts you with winds to let go of such a ‘foolish’ hold on God as the enemy states, “Has God said?”

Time delays and the circumstances give evidence that something must be done as people give way to panic; people are departing by the number, but you know that God said, “Trust Me” and yet the situation becomes all the more ridiculous; the appointed day of action and deliverance now seems a figment of your imagination. Still, the Spirit says, “Trust in the Lord.”

What a trial between faith and common sense, between our own wisdom and that of heaven. What does one do when no answer comes, when no relief arrives? What does one do when the future looks so dreadful at the prospect of having confidence in God?

It is easier to act yourself than to trust that defies logic and let the Lord act Himself – “Trust in the Lord and He shall act.” Does this cancel our exertion; are we to sit and do nothing? Not at all, but when we have done all we can, exhausted the options before us and those doors slam shut in our face, we can but only trust God with all of our hearts. We may appear as the biggest fools, but faith boils down to this, “I will honour God despite how much it may hurt me and bring loss; my honour shall go before God’s. God has said and He shall do.”

Will God cast away a soul that leans heavily on Him? Will God withhold His mercy to shame a man or woman whose heart is true to Him? Shall not God honour those who honour Him? Shall He not deliver those who fear Him? Shall God mock those who desperately cry unto Him day and night for answers? Is God’s ear silent to the cry of the oppressed? Is He numb to the sorrows of the afflicted?

What a trial when all one can do is trust and lose in the eyes of others, but better to do so than act by one’s own understanding, only to see the Lord afterwards coming on the horizon to ask, “Where was your faith?”