Pastor Dele Olubi
Many people have over time come to believe that one of the major reasons for either their failures or success in life is predicated on predestination of their situation. But when we look at some characters in the bible e.g. Saul the first King of Israel, we will see some very important reasons why he failed.
What opportunities did Saul have that he lost and how does that apply to us today?
[biblegateway passage=”Genesis 49: 8 – 10″ display=”Genesis 49: 8 – 10″]
We recall that Reuben lost his birthright to Joseph and Kingship was given to Judah. Saul being a Benjamite had no business in the line of Kingship but somehow, when Israel insisted on having a King rule over them, God gave them a king in the person of Saul. The bible recorded that God gave them a king in annoyance. However, Saul had a wonderful coronation when he was made a king. His process to Kingship was a very spectacular one because God was ready to relate with him not as one from the tribe of Benjamin but as a person who had equal right to make of his life whatever he pleases. How Saul got to the throne as the king didn’t matter anymore, what mattered was that God placed him on the throne and was ready to establish him.
God gives every one of us equal chances to succeed in life. Rehab who was a harlot was not supposed to have her place as the progenitor of the Lord Jesus Christ, but she came into it. Though she didn’t look deserving of that position from our point of view, yet God still chose her. That tells us that it doesn’t matter how we got our chance, what matters is what we do as the one who was chosen. None of us has any reason to fail.
The problem Saul had was not about his lineage, but about his attitude. The same was true of Esau who didn’t have the right kind of heart for the things of God. Esau had an equal chance too but he decided to sell his birthright to Jacob and everything else played out accordingly until Jacob became the one who was blessed by their father.
[biblegateway passage=”2 Corinthians. 5:17″ display=”2 Corinthians. 5:17″]
Just as Esau had a chance, we too got a new chance when we got saved. When a man is born again, God ceases to relate with him as before. God could have made something good out of Saul but Saul himself failed God. Our past is no longer held against us. It is a new beginning.
[biblegateway passage=”John 7: 17″ display=”John 7: 17″]
Our hearts must continually be set on doing the will of God. God sees the idol in every man’s heart and usually answers us according to that idol. Somehow, Saul’s heart was not right. This is where positioning our hearts is very important. That was also why God preferred Jacob to Esau; God saw their hearts.
It doesn’t matter what our experiences are like or where we are coming from, we don’t have any justification for failure. We can become whatever it is that God has called us to be, whether in our Christian work or in life chosen ambitions. Saul did not handle spiritual things the way it should have been handled; he was frivolous. We should continually pray against the spirit of frivolity. We are supposed to be firm, understanding that failure is not an option because we have all it takes to overcome anything.