It’s not wrong to feel emotion, or to experience hurt. But God’s desire is that I would not allow hurt and offense to prevent me from stepping forward into the better things He has in store for me.
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Scripture
1 Samuel 15:35-16:1
35And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
1The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
Observation
Saul had rejected God, God had rejected Saul, and the newly formed kingdom of Israel was in a bad spot. Samuel understandably felt like Saul had let him down, and he was grieving the betrayal of trust. It was appropriate for Samuel to grieve–but at some point during his grief journey, God told him it was time to keep on walking forward. Samuel’s grief, left unchecked, would have mired him down in a self-absorbed spiral of hurt, offense, and introspective emotional seething. His emotion wasn’t wrong…but it couldn’t be allowed to rule him and control his future. God’s command came: “Fill your horn with oil…and GO!”
Application
I’ve been wounded and betrayed before. I’ve been let down by those I trusted, and I’ve spent seasons of grief processing through the way that others have failed and hurt me. This is necessary and natural…but it can also prevent me from continuing the journey if I allow it. God Himself ‘regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel’…but God’s plans for Israel didn’t stop with Saul’s failure. God had a plan for the next king, and the next season…and he needed Samuel to be engaged in the process. Like Samuel, I must be willing to lay down my grief and offense…and ‘GO’ when God commands it. His plans have not run out, and his power has not been exhausted. His goodness and his mercy continue on, and he WILL give me strength for the journey as I follow his voice.
This week, I need to watch for areas where I’ve allowed grief and offense over past hurts to prevent me from walking forward into the greater things that lie ahead. It’s time to fill my horn with oil, and GO!
Prayer
God, thank you for your gentle leading which doesn’t allow me to wallow in self-absorbed offense and frustration. Thank you that your goodness and your power have not run out, and that no human failing can overcome your Kingship. Help me to walk at your pace. Help me to process through hurts and offense in a healthy way–so that it would be a marker on the map that I can learn from…but not an anchor which prevents me from sailing forward.
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