When I started out in pastoral ministry, my Lead Pastor told me that at least 10% of the people in the church would grow to dislike me. How’s that for encouragement! Yet, as a young, people-pleasing intern, I needed to have this kind of reality check. At the end of 1 Samuel 10, Saul returns to his hometown of Gibeah with a cadre of valiant men. Yet, we also learn that some troublemakers despised him and openly questioned his leadership (1 Sam. 10:27). I suspect that these agitators were part of Saul’s 10%. Fortunately, God had already brought key supporters into Saul’s life – the heroes I mention in a previous blog (see Surrounded by Heroes). I don’t enjoy being disliked. However, as a leader, I need to accept that peoples’ displeasure often comes with the territory and continue to lead even as God leads me. 

Franklin Graham, in his book Rebel with a Cause, describes the “God zone” - the places where God calls us to walk and where we cannot walk well in our own strength. In 1 Samuel 10, we see God leading Saul into a God zone. He chose Saul to be king over Israel. It was a huge responsibility. Yet, where God leads, He provides the necessary resources to live and serve in a way that honors Him. In Saul’s case, He raised up valiant men to accompany him back to his hometown of Gibeah (1 Sam. 10:26). As we follow the Lord today, He will provide all that we need to follow Him well.

In a previous blog, I described how the Israelites suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of the Philistines (1Sam. 5:1-11). The Israelites had taken matters into their own hands by bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the battle. Their misguided attempted to secure God’s blessing did not produce a victory. In fact, not only did they lose the battle, but they also lost the Ark in the process. However, the Philistines did not escape unscathed; the Lord struck some of them with death and tumors. They finally sent the Ark back to Israel where it sat in Kiriath Jearim for 20 years (after a brief stop in Beth Shemesh). During that time, “all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord” (1 Sam. 7:2). Samuel told the people to get rid of their idols and commit themselves to the Lord. The people gathered en masse at Mizpah and confessed their sins.

Now, the Philistines viewed this national gathering as a provocation and mustered their army in response. The Israelites knew they needed God’s help, so they asked Samuel to pray unceasingly for God’s intervention. Samuel prayed and “the Lord thundered with a loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites” (1 Sam. 7:10).

What kinds of challenges do we face today? With a clean heart, let’s commit these challenges to the Lord, take action as He leads, and trust Him with the results.