Human Response 451: Very Afraid and Troubled

1 Samuel 28:20-21 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaiden hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me.

When Saul heard the bad news from the spirit of Samuel, he was very much afraid and sorely troubled, so that he was struck down prostrate on the ground. This would be the natural reaction of anyone hearing such bad news from a prophet of God. Experiencing terror upon receiving the hammer of God’s Law in our hearing should be a fairly common event in the life of a believer. The fear and trouble is meant to bring about repentance and lead us to faith in the saving Gospel.

Saul’s problem was that his response was not to repent and hear the Good News, but rather to stay in a state of fear and trouble. As far as we are told, he did not repent and find forgiveness. The next day Saul fell on his sword, committing suicide in the face of overwhelming defeat at the hands of the Philistines. We cannot answer whether or not Saul was finally saved, but his end was certainly tragic.

When really bad things happen to us, we respond by turning to the Lord, we repent, believe, and are saved by His powerful Gospel.