Second-Guessing God

When second-guessing God becomes a habit, 1 Samuel 22 warns how partial obedience and self-justified decisions can harden the heart, distort His Word, and lead us away from wholehearted submission.

“Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword” (1 Samuel 22:19).

All too often, Saul felt justified doing whatever he wanted even if this meant ignoring God’s Word. He first demonstrated this tendency when God told him to destroy all the Amalekites. Saul reinterpreted God’s Word and only partially obeyed.

While he wasn’t willing to destroy the Amalekites, he was willing to kill everyone and everything in Nob. Why? Because, innocently, they had helped David. Instead of placing his highest priority on pleasing God, Saul pursued his own will and desires. Samuel told him he had “rejected the word of the Lord,” and as a result, “the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel” (1 Samuel 15:26).

Even though we can be critical of Saul, many people decide what they think God meant when they hear a word from the Lord or read the Bible. Saul’s example reveals why it’s so important that we submit our lives to God and have a personal relationship with Him—live by faith, believe His Word, obey Him, and realize our own limitations.

Stay humble before God. When you read the Bible, ask Him to give you understanding and revelation. Don’t be guilty of reinterpreting His Word to satisfy your own opinions. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you” (Romans 12:2 NLT).

Reflection Question: Have you been guilty of adjusting God’s Word to fit your will?