15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has departed from me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.” 16 Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary? 17 The Lord has done [d]accordingly as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. 18 As you did not [e]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”
20 Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no [f]food all day and all night. 21 The woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified, and said to him, “Behold, your maidservant has [g]obeyed you, and I have [h]taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. 22 So now also, please listen to the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you that you may eat and have strength when you go on your way.” 23 But he refused and said, “I will not eat.” However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to [i]them. So he arose from the ground and sat on the bed. 24 The woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it; and she took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.
Saul had good reason to be afraid after finding out that they would be defeated and he and his sons would be dead the next day. Even more so because he knew the only reason God was against him was that he had put himself at odds with God.
It seems that no matter what, Saul was not willing to humble himself and serve God once more. He was only interested in what God could do for him, and that’s a dangerous place to be. God doesn’t serve our selfish interests, He wants what is best for us, which is often the opposite of our selfish desires.
At any rate, the important lesson from Saul is to be humble, and seek God “while He may be found.” Which is as much to say as, seek God before your own heart is to hard and calloused to yield to Him. Then you will find mercy, forgiveness, and even God’s favor in your life (both here and after death).