⁸ He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. ⁹ So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. ¹⁰ Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

¹¹ “What have you done?” asked Samuel.

Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, ¹² I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”

¹³ “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

1 Samuel 13:8-14

There are two clear takeaways I have from this reading:

1. Be patient and wait for God’s time, and
2. Seek God’s plan instead of yours

Saul didn’t wait for Samuel and God’s plans and instead took matters into his own hands, which is a shame because he was plucked from the crowd and given the rare opportunity to lead.

My dear readers, today is Easter Sunday, and the message is clear: let us be patient and wait for God’s plan. Let’s always seek his advice and wait for his timing.