Scripture

Our verse for today comes from 1 Samuel 16:1, “Now the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.'”

Background

It’s no fun getting your hopes up and then being let down, is it? In fact, if that tends to happen to you repeatedly, one can build up a resistance to expecting good simply as a defense mechanism against the pain of disappointment. It becomes much more tolerable to expect nothing and then be pleasantly surprised when the results are favorable. Caring so much and investing so much of yourself opens a wide door to emotional pain, and when the hope is gone, the hurt comes flooding in. And when you thought your focus was set on the plans of the Lord, it can be doubly intense when it all seems to come crashing down around you. And then what? What do you do next? What can you do next? It can be a crippling time in your walk, can’t it? Such clarity and intent to follow and serve can get replaced by a fog of doubt and uncertainty, wiping out any desire to go or seek or do. And oh, how we then so badly need a refreshing word from the Lord. Just like Samuel did.

Application

When God told him that He had rejected Saul as king, Samuel was devastated. And once Samuel delivered the message to Saul, that was the last time the two would see each other. Samuel’s beloved king and dear friend was as dead to him. That might cause a chink in the armor. But God did come to him, right in the midst of his mourning. And He told Samuel the same message that He has for all of us when it looks like He’s let us down, or changed His mind, or whatever human spin we put on our disappointment. He told him that the future is still His. He showed him that He was still moving forward, unthwarted by the waywardness of Saul or anyone else. He reminded Samuel that yearning over what God has left behind is not the answer to disappointment and uncertainty. Pouting and moping doesn’t prepare you for what God is wanting to provide. Going on to where He wants you next, fully expecting and hoping in the mercies of our King, is the way through the fog. So leave behind the doubt and regret, and go with Him to what He provides next.

Charge

As we seek Him today, honestly express your frustrations and doubts if you seem adrift or lost. Ask God to take your eyes off of the past and off of your version of the future and go forward expecting Him to provide.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words