[One-Verse Meditation]

1 Samuel 28:15 (NIV)
“Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’ ‘I am in great distress,’ Saul said. ‘The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.’”

[Meditation]

In his desperation, Saul disguises himself and goes out at night to seek a medium. Since he had driven all the mediums out of Israel, he could hardly go to her openly and reveal who he was. The command Saul gives the woman begins like this: “for me.” Right there, Saul’s true center is exposed. He was not seeking the will of God; he was seeking his own safety.
What is even more ironic is what follows. Saul swears to the woman in the name of the LORD that no harm will come to her. It is the picture of a man who has cast aside the word of God, yet still clings to the name of God. But the presence of the LORD’s name on his lips did not mean that his heart was turned toward God.

At Saul’s request, the woman brings up the spirit of Samuel. It is a troubling and uncomfortable scene for us, yet many theologians understand it as an event permitted by God — a means by which God allowed His message to be delivered to Saul. Realizing that it was Samuel, Saul bowed down and said, “I am in great distress.” The Philistines were advancing, God was no longer answering him, and he did not know what to do. Yet what Saul heard was not a new answer, but the word of God he had already rejected.

This scene calls us to reflect again on what faith truly is. Faith does not take its foundation from me. It does not make me its goal. To cling to my circumstances, my calculations, or my safety is not faith. Faith takes God alone as its ground and God alone as its end. Then circumstances and surroundings cannot overthrow that faith. When we know that God is truly God, our faith does not waver. That is why the apostle Paul could say:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39).

[Prayer]

Lord, yes — whenever I look at myself, I fall. But when I look to You, I am always safe. Keep me from losing sight of this truth, and lead me today to walk with steadfast faith. Amen.
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(Daily Meditation)

1 Samuel 28:8–25