God’s Choice for King
15 Now a day before Saul’s coming, the Lord had [c]revealed this to Samuel saying, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord [d]said to him, “Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20 As for your donkeys which were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” 21 Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the [e]tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?”
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. 23 Samuel said to the cook, “[f]Bring the portion that I gave you, concerning which I said to you, ‘Set it [g]aside.’” 24 Then the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, [h]since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 When they came down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the [i]roof. 26 And they arose early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Say to the servant that he might go ahead of us and pass on, but you remain standing now, that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”
Saul had a plan: find the seer, ask about the donkeys, hopefully find them, and go home. But God had other plans, and from the beginning Saul’s plans get rearranged.
We hold onto our own ways, our own plans, with all the muster we can manage. But sometimes God has other plans, and though we might feel we are giving something up, God’s plans are always higher than ours, greater than our, and turn out better than ours.
Trust God for His plans in your life, and don’t lean on your own planning and wisdom. Heard that from a very wise man somewhere…