Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Are You Done Yet?

1 Samuel 16:1

The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way"...

How can one little verse dig so deep?

Saul had just tanked majorly, God rejected him and Samuel was in mourning. Can you imagine what was going through Samuel's thoughts? Lord, you let the people have a king, only to renounce him?...or worse, only to choose this guy? What is going on here? Everything is falling apart...and the list could go on and on....

It doesn't say how long Samuel was stuck in mourning mode, but God was clear :

Are You Done Yet? Get Up! Dust yourself off. Fill your horn with oil and Be On Your Way, I'm sending you to Bethlehem because I have chosen a king--one after my own heart.

God had a better plan, a humble shepherd boy who would follow Him with all of his heart (not that he wouldn't mess up, but he still sought after God).

What would have happened if Samuel just stayed in his pit, letting depression and disappointment sweep over him? Would God's plan have been messed up? Nope, but what blessings would he have missed by not being part of this path...he'd only be hurting himself.

Are you hanging on to past hurts and disappointments?

Is God asking if you're done yet?

Does he have a job for you to do?---Is he saying "Be on your Way"?

We might not be able to see the outcome, but hold firmly to the fact that God is good, all the time..God is good. He works out all things for the good of those who love him. His ways are higher than our's...sometimes it's hard to shake off the tunnel vision of our surroundings and ask God to reveal His Big Picture...

Just some food for thought.

And on a comforting note, even these strong in the Lord, major people in the Bible didn't always have it all together or figured out.

Life is a process. Keep pressing forward (which will have to be a post for another day!).

Tomorrow, I'll post some stuff about all of this snow---trying to enjoy it as I pray this will be the last "Big One" we will experience (the desert sounds so good as I look out at this sea of monster snow drifts!)

2 comments:

slow panic said...

"be on your way" those are some powerful words. love this post

Debbie said...

Shelly, what a wonderful post! I'll be teaching a lesson in prison on this very subject. Can I use yours? Or you can come and do it for me!That's good stuff! Better than snow pictures!