"Get Up, Samuel!"

 

Scripture

 1 Samuel 15:34-16:1

³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”  (NRSV)

Devotion

 Sometimes one of the hardest things to do is to let go and move one.  This was certainly the case with the prophet Samuel and King Saul.  Today's passage comes immediately after Samuel announces that God has rejected the disobedient Saul as King of Israel.  Saul, though, still occupies the throne.  And Samuel goes back to his home, where he grieves deeply over Saul and what has just transpired.

Samuel's grief is natural.  He had spent years sharing God's word with Saul and helping him try to be a good king.  This means that Samuel's grief has layers.  He grieves for the young man he once knew--the man had so much potential.  He grieves that his and Saul's relationship has come to a bitter an angry end.  And he grieves for Israel, whose great experiment with kingship seems to have already failed.  And so even though he knows that God will have more work to him to do, Saul takes to time to reflect on all that has happened and mourn everything that has been lost...everything that has gone wrong.

There is definitely a time to grieve what has been lost or what hasn't gone as planned.  There is also a time to get up and get back to work, trusting in God to send you in the right direction.  That's why God eventually told Samuel that it was time to go seek out Israel's next king.  Otherwise, Samuel may have spent so long grieving the past that he would have never gotten around to moving towards the future that God has in store.  It was time to for Samuel move on.  When he does so, he will end up discovering Israel's most famous and most beloved king: David, son of Jesse.  God did indeed have great things in store.

The past year a half has taught me is just how tempting it is to keep grieving what has been instead of taking the initiative to discover where God leading us next.  Some of my young cousins at my family reunion, for instance, were initially so busy talking about all the things they missed about going to our deceased cousin Betty's farm that they were in danger of missing out on all the wonderful things they could do at our new location.  It took the perseverance of a few adults to convince them to give our new spot a try...but when they did, they realized just how great of a place my cousin Eddie had built for us.  I think the same can be said for many families, businesses, and churches over the course of the pandemic.  We initially grieved deeply for all the people we could go see and the things we couldn't do.  But the more people began to get and look for new ways of doing what they loved or new things to try, the more we learned that there still blessings in store for us. 

Taking the appropriate time to mourn is part of a healthy, faithful response to loss.  But when, after a time, we find ourselves still stuck in the depths of despair and seemingly unable to let got of the past, then it is time to turn to God for help in getting back on our feet and moving forward.  For while we may not want to head in a new direction, meet new people, or try new things, doing so is a sign of our trust in God's good plans for us.  And make no mistake: there are plenty of blessings for us to enjoy if we are only willing to give God a chance to lead us to them. We will still remember and mourn the past from time to time, but our grief will begin to tempered with an appreciation for what was, thanksgiving for what is, and hope for what is yet to come into being.

 So let us ask God to help us work though and let go of some of the grief we carry.  And let us keep our hearts and minds open for the new opportunities that await us.  After all, who knows what blessings God will lead us to receive? 

 

Prayer

 God, you know how my heart grieves.  Help me to let go of what I have mourned long enough and get back on my feet so that I can set out on my path you have in store for me.  Amen.