We all have things we fear, but some people are especially driven by fear. Their life is a desperate attempt to avoid things like…
- The loss of a loved one.
- The loss of a marriage.
- The loss of their health.
- The loss of financial stability.
- The loss of position.
This is the picture of king Saul in 1 Samuel chapter 28. You can see his fearfulness build in the previous chapters…
- Saul is fearful of the responsibility of being king. (1 Samuel 10:20-22)
- Saul is fearful of losing his soldiers. (1 Samuel 13:7-14)
- Saul is fearful of the Philistines getting away. (1 Samuel 14:36-37)
- Saul is fearful of his own men. (1 Samuel 15:24)
- Saul is fearful of Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:8-11)
- Saul is fearful of David’s success. (1 Samuel 18-27)
Now, in 1 Samuel 28, Saul is so fearful of the Philistine army he scrambles to find someone to give him advice. God is no longer communicating with Saul, because of Saul’s disobedience. (1 Samuel 28:18.) So Saul breaks his own law and seeks a consultation with a medium or witch. Saul is frantically scrambling for anything to take away his fear.
It’s a strong contrast to the calm and confident David we see in the previous two chapters.
What’s the difference? Though it sounds cliché, David was trusting God and Saul was trusting Saul. David’s only focus was on what God wanted done, while Saul’s only focus was on what Saul wanted done.
Fearfulness comes from trusting yourself rather than trusting God. It comes from trying to orchestrate your own desired outcomes, rather than trusting God to orchestrate His desired outcomes.
We are not to be fearful, but rather powerful, loving, and self-controlled. (2 Timothy 1:7) So turn from fear and trust God. He alone holds the total control of our lives. (Matt. 10:28)