The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel?” (1 Sam. 16:1)
Expanded Passage: 1 Samuel 16:1
One day, my father-in-law and I were out fishing. He was reeling in a lot of fish, but I had not caught a single one. I was using the same fishing technique I had used for many years, so I could not figure out what was wrong. He encouraged me to try his technique, which was new to me. I was hesitant at first, but when I tried this new way of fishing, trusting my father-in-law, I began to catch fish.
It is easy to fall into the trap of holding on to how things used to be and refuse to move into what can be. I say that, of course, with the utmost caution, knowing that many situations are more complicated than fishing. It can be difficult to grieve what was and to move into the unknown future of what can be.
Samuel, in this passage, was in the midst of grief and fear. He had been called to leave what was and go anoint the new king of Israel. First, he was grieving for Saul. Samuel anointed Saul as king, but Saul had been rejected by God. Secondly, he feared Saul. Samuel feared Saul’s reaction to the anointing of the new king. However, Samuel trusted in God to leave what was in order to welcome what would be.
Trust God to lead you into what can be.
Andrew Christman, a proud veteran of the US Army, serves as a hospital chaplain in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Wesley Seminary and an ordained Wesleyan pastor.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
