Reaction to Action- Moving On
“Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”
As we’re now on week 2 of "Reaction to Action," I want to talk about moving on. From reading the above passage of Scripture, it is clear that the Prophet Samuel liked Saul. He watched Saul develop from a shy kid, to a warrior king, to a paranoid self-destructing king. Samuel mentored Saul, scolded him, argued with him, and told him God’s plans as he guided Saul in his role as king of Israel. He grew attached to Saul, so it’s only natural that Samuel would be deeply affected by God, telling him to let go of the idea of Saul staying king.
But God was disheartened and angry by Saul’s constant disobedience that He rejected him.
There are 2 takeaways from this passage of Scripture that I want to point out:
1). God is gracious and merciful, but…
When He has made up His mind to reject something, or lets someone fall into their own sinful desires He will. Looking at the Israelites, after giving them chance after chance He let them fall to their enemies numerous times in the Old Testament because they were stubborn and refused to seek or listen to Him. And when God has decided to let someone reap the consequences of their sin(s), He fills His flask and moves on to focus on those who seek after Him.
2). Moving On…
Can be hard, and it can be hard to let go of something or someone that has happened to you. It’s normal to get attached, but sometimes something or someone is only meant to be in your life for a season, and God is saying “I need you to reject this, fill your flask, and go- behold I do a new thing (1 Samuel 16:1 & Isaiah 43:19 references).
When it’s time to move on from a thing He will let you know and confirm it. And sure, God understands your attachment to the old thing. He can relate and you’ll hear that all throughout the book of Isaiah where God was pining after the disobedient Israelites. And sure, there might need to be a period of mourning and sulking. But after time has passed, you’ll sense God saying “You have mourned long enough for this thing, and it's time to let it go.”
In these moments in life, may we seek His strength to really move on, after we have mourned. May our reaction be one of obedience to press on towards the goal, and keep Philippians 3: 13-16, NLT in our hearts and actions:
“Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you.”
Happy Friday! x