OPINION —
There are moments in life when we want God to speak clearly. We want direction, reassurance or some kind of answer that tells us what to do next. But one of the uncomfortable truths in Scripture is that sometimes the problem is not that God has never spoken. Sometimes the problem is that we have spent too long ignoring what He has already said.
That is what makes the story of Saul and the medium at Endor so tragic. By the time we reach 1 Samuel 28, Saul is terrified. The Philistine army is gathering, Samuel is dead and Saul is desperate for guidance. He asks the Lord what to do, but receives no answer.
At first glance, that can make God seem distant. But Saul’s silence does not happen in a vacuum. This is the same Saul who repeatedly resisted God’s commands, acted impulsively and tried to hold on to control. When the crisis finally became too much for him, he wanted God’s direction without having lived in submission to God’s voice.
That is a dangerous place to be.
Saul knew what God had said about mediums and spiritists. In fact, he had previously removed them from the land. Yet fear had a way of pushing him toward the very thing he once knew was wrong.
That is one of the lessons fear teaches us. Fear does not always create new beliefs in us. Often, it exposes where our trust has really been all along.
When we are afraid, we reach for something. We reach for control, money, approval, relationships, distraction or anything else that gives us the feeling that we are not helpless. Saul reached for a forbidden source of guidance because he was more desperate for an answer than he was committed to obedience.
The saddest part is that he did not really receive a new answer.
He went to Endor looking for something different, but the message he received only confirmed what God had already told him. Saul wanted another way, another outcome and another word. Instead, he heard again that judgment was coming.
That is something we can still do today. We may not visit a medium, but we can search for voices that tell us what we want to hear. We can keep asking the same question until someone gives us a more comfortable answer. We can convince ourselves that if enough people agree with us, then maybe God’s Word no longer means what it clearly says.
But darkness does not become light just because it feels easier to accept.
Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” That verse is important because the answer to darkness is not to stop searching. The answer is to search in the right place.
If someone is lost, broken or afraid, Scripture does not say there is no hope. Quite the opposite. It points us to Jesus.
The problem in Saul’s story was not that he was in darkness and wanted light. The problem was that he had rejected the light God had already given and then went looking somewhere else.
That distinction matters.
There may be someone reading this who feels like they have made too many mistakes. Maybe you have ignored God for years. Maybe you have known what was right but kept going the other direction. Maybe your life feels more complicated now because of choices you wish you could undo.
Saul’s story is a warning, but it should also remind us not to wait. Repentance must come before the end of the story.
Second Peter 3:9 says that the Lord is patient, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God’s patience is not permission to keep running from Him. It is an opportunity to turn back while there is still time.
There is a difference between being sorry about consequences and actually turning away from sin. Saul was terrified, but the text never really shows the kind of repentance that changes direction. He was broken by what was coming, but he had spent too long resisting the One who could have led him differently.
That is what makes this story one of the Bible’s true horror stories.
It is not the medium. It is not the darkness. It is not even the appearance of Samuel. The real horror is watching a man come to the end of his story still refusing to fully surrender to God.
For us, the message is simple. If God has spoken, listen. If fear is driving you, slow down and ask what you are trusting. If you are searching for light, do not settle for a false one. And if you know you need to turn back, do not wait until the end of the story.
Jesus is still the Light of the world, and there is still hope for anyone willing to follow Him.
