Why do we act?

I have been reading the story of king Saul in the old testament recently, and when I was reading last night, something really struck me about Saul's downfall. After he is crowned king of Israel, he is surrounded by the Philistine army and he and his army are waiting for Samuel's arrival before they begin battle. Samuel is going to offer a sacrifice to the Lord on Israel's behalf so they might seek the Lord and pray that He would give them victory in battle. Samuel is a long time coming. At this point, Saul looks around, sees the huge Philistine army that is ready to attack him and his men, and he makes a decision. He offers the sacrifice in the place of Samuel. When Samuel arrives shortly after and sees what Saul has done, he tells Saul that because of what he has done, God is going to take away his authority as king. Saul says to Samuel, " you were a long time coming, and I felt compelled to act." What caught my attention is that Saul acted on his compulsion and not on the commandment of the Lord. He looked around and saw the overwhelming circumstances and chose to act based on his feelings, instead of waiting for the Lord. Because of this decision, he loses the kingdom. I know that the Lord has used this to speak to me about waiting on Him in the midst of overwhelming circumstances that look as if they might destroy me/and my family. Just like Samuel was a long time coming, sometimes it seems that God's salvation of a situation is a long time coming and it seems as if it might be too late, and that is when we make the mistake of acting on our own behalf. God is teaching me that in those moments of decision, instead of acting on compulsion, that is when we need to be still and trust that He is coming!