1 Samuel 9:1-4. The beginning of Saul's story. We are introduced to his father, Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, a man of wealth. Kish has a son, Saul, who is very tall and handsome. Kish sends Saul and a servant to look for his missing asses. They look everywhere - all through Ephraim, Shalisha, Shaalim, and the land of Benjamin, but they do not find them. This is the end of these verses, but the story goes on - Saul's servant talks Saul into going to see a prophet, Samuel, who lives in the city that they find themselves in. Meanwhile, God has appeared to Samuel and told him about Saul and to anoint him king when he gets there.

This raises the question a question that I constantly struggle with - when do we realize that we are on the wrong path and turn back? Do I sometimes turn back too soon? Do I sometimes keep going when i should turn back? Sometimes we definitely are on the wrong path, and we are supposed to turn back. Other times, God wants us to keep going, he is trying to get us to another place. I struggle with this so often.

Saul has looked through four lands and has been kept away from home much longer than expected. He thinks he should turn home, to put his father's mind at rest about his own safety, but the servant talks him into seeing Samuel (in fact, the servant knew of Samuel, knew he lived in the city they were in, had money to pay him, and convinced Saul to see him. Hmm... perhaps there is more to this servant than meets the eye!)

In the uncertainty of choosing between two seemingly good, or at least not bad, courses of action - like whether to turn home or whether to keep going, I have had to learn to discern and look for God's prompts and signs. Saul's servant was a pretty big prompt for Saul and he got Saul to where Saul was meant to be. God knew that Saul would need this, so he had Kish send the servant with Saul.

These are the kinds of signs that we have to be on the look out for. God puts people in our lives (and in our days) for a reason. So with every encounter, I ask myself, what am I supposed to learn from this, or what am I supposed to be giving to this person? God always gives us what we need to get where he wants us to go, but we have to pay attention and we have to discern.