12 Weeks of Prayer Week 11 Day 2

12 Weeks of Prayer Week 11 Day 2

SILENCE! NO RESPONSE!

By Rev. Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro

“However, some good-for-nothing people asked,

'How can this man save us?'

They despised him and wouldn’t bring him presents,

but he didn’t respond.”

1 Samuel 10:27

Can you imagine? Saul was just made king. It was the desire of the people. They casted lots and Saul was chosen. The Prophet and Judge Samuel anointed him before the people. Saul became the king.

However, NOT everyone was happy about it. What a surprise! I love the way it’s put here, “Some good-for-nothing people.” I’m not calling them that, God called them that. You know why God called them that? You see, it was not Saul who ran for office. The chapter before talks about Saul looking for run-away donkeys that belonged to his father.

He was minding his own business, taking care of business, when the Prophet Samuel met him and his whole life was about to be turned around. He went from no position to the greatest position known to man, king of his country. I guarantee you that he had no idea and no plan to be king. But God? He had a great plan for his life.

Saul impresses me here, and he should impress you, too. He teaches all of us a great lesson in this very verse. “He didn’t respond.” I was having a conversation the other day with friends. I said, “My silence in the mean things people do to me is not to be interpreted as I’m weak, I’m wrong, or I’m stupid. It simply means I don’t respond to foolish people.” This was the king of Israel's response, too. Silence! No response. He ignored their nonsense and by doing so, he showed great strength, self-respect, and dignity. Go, Saul, go! We need to do the same with the foolish, good-for-nothing people around us, too. Ignore!

Imagine the audacity of those foolish people. They asked for a king, agreed to how it would be done, and in this particular case, God had handpicked this man to be king. They not only complained about him but also disrespected him and didn’t adhere to the custom of that day to bring him presents. In fact, they allowed the hate and jealousy to get into their hearts by despising him. I say jealousy because they asked a question, “Who is he?” In other words, “Why him? I’m better than him." This is a terrible attitude, and it turned into hating him. Hate in a person’s heart is a horrible and destructive emotion. The only people who get hurt in the end are those who hate and despise others.

They could despise and hate all they wanted. The fact was that the man was made king by God Himself. The only way that could be reversed was for God to remove him as king. Saul, here, ignored them. To ignore doesn’t mean he agreed with their behavior. Remember, he was the king now, and he ruled so he could have done anything to those people. However, he chose one of the greatest characteristics any person could possess. He chose to ignore the offense. I’m 100% in favor of this attitude. In fact, I practice this, too. I allow people to say what they wish. I ignore and don’t care who acknowledges me or who doesn’t. It’s fine with me, and it should be for you, too.

You know why this attitude of Saul is so important? Most importantly, he is allowing God to fight his battle. God placed him as king. He didn’t place himself as the king. So, then, those foolish people were going against God, not Saul. Here’s an especially important lesson: be very careful whom you go against. Secondly, Saul didn’t care about what foolish people had to say. At this particular time, he was following God. His intention was to honor what God was doing in his life. And lastly, he was king. He didn’t need them for anything, he had the best of the best gifts from God already. He had God’s hand on his life, God’s blessings, and God’s protection. He had the very favor of God on his life. He had everything in God. He didn’t need the little gifts from the good-for-nothing people.

Two lessons that we can learn. One, ignore those who hate you and wish you harm. Don’t try to defend yourself. Some people need your silence. Leave them in God’s hands and do no one any harm. Two, be incredibly careful about who you hate and despise. In fact, you are to hate no one. Foolish people like to cause trouble, but calamity quickly falls on them. The hand of God is never on the good-for-nothing people. They are to be pitied. They never will have the favor of God until they repent and change their wicked hearts.

Choose to love instead of hate. Choose to ignore instead of engaging. Choose to forgive, instead of being unforgiving. Choose to be free from the bondage of anything evil and ugly. Choose life over death. Hate kills the heart, and bitterness is a terrible root to undo. Choose silence over speaking. Choosing silence by ignoring is the greatest asset anyone can possess. Not everything is worthy of your response. Choose to do things God’s way.

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