After a quick victory against the Ammonites and the Philistine garrison at Geba, the reign of King Saul quickly goes downhill. The Philistine’s gathered a large force: chariots, horsemen, and innumerable infantry. Saul waited a few days for Samuel to show up to offer the pre-battle sacrifice, but his army was starting to desert him and Saul made the wrong decision to offer the sacrifice himself.
One could look at this and consider that Saul was doing a good thing. He knew he couldn’t win the battle on his own, he needed God’s guidance. Yet you could also say that his offering was meant to be nothing more than an appeasement to God. In the end we see it was really a lack of trust in God’s timing.
How often do we do the same thing – wait for God for a while, but when the answer doesn’t come we take matters into our own hands. Trust in Him. Trust in HIS timing. He will deliver us!