What is life like apart from a relationship with the Lord? This is a question worth asking, both by those who have not committed their lives to Christ and by those who have. The focus of the question should not be a mere formality, but a true, living relationship with God. In one of the most bizarre scenes in the Bible, we see king Saul driven by a desperate situation to extreme lengths. He is hemmed in on one side by the warring Philistines, and on the other side by a stony silence from the Lord. This desperation reveals the foolishness of a heart that is far from God – one that mouths orthodoxy all the while pursuing what God has declared that He hates. In the end, we see that when we only seek relief and not God, we are left hopeless and alone; but when we seek God, we have true hope and comfort. This is the lesson of the story of “The King & the Witch” (1 Samuel 28:3-25).

I. Desperation
A. Desperate Times
B. Desperately Alone

II. Foolishness
A. Looking in the Wrong Place
B. Looking for the Wrong Thing

III. Consequence
A. Darkness and Despair
B. Light and Hope

Questions for consideration: (1) What are some of the most difficult situations you have had? How did you respond to that? How can we learn about how we should respond from the text? (2) Have you ever “compromised” your principles because of fear of circumstances? How should we fight against that? (3) What do the miserable things we go through tell us about what Christ did for us?