Samuel
and Saul had parted ways. The former went to Ramah and the latter to Gibeah.
The impact of all that had happened affected Samuel much. What Saul did, grieved
him. We also can justifiably accept that he must have also developed an
affection for Saul. But more than that, he felt for the Lord. For one who loved
the Lord so deeply, how could his heart not be affected? How could he not be
affected when the leader whom he was involved in appointing had sabotaged the
plan of the Lord so miserably? How could he not grieve when he knew the lives
of the people of God would be affected also? The passage did not tell us how
long he grieved but grieving he did, and perhaps even to a point of despair.
This tells us how deeply he cared about God, His people and the plan of God.
What about us? Does what affect God affect us?
It
appears as if Samuel had become so miserable over the whole matter that he
became out of commission because of one man’s failure. We can certainly be sad
for the failures, whether they are ours or others, but we must not allow them
to drive us to a point where we literally despair of life. We must, with the
help of God, rise up and deal with it the way we should. One way to get out of
a despairing life is to see failure in the light of our God and His overall
plan. No failure can prevent God’s plan from moving forward. Don’t forget that
God is in control. So He gently rebuked Samuel for his passivity, asking him
“How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being
king over Israel?” God will never allow one failure to hamper the progress of
His plan. So He told Samuel to get up and get to work again. God had someone in
mind whom He was certain would obey Him and do His will.
Identifying
Jessie from Bethlehem, God told Samuel to fill his horn for He was sending him
to anoint one of Jessie’s sons as king. This would be a king whom God had
selected for Himself. Samuel hesitated because he was afraid that he might
offend Saul. But the overriding purpose of God should dispel all fears. Like
Samuel, we too must learn to rise above our circumstances and our fears. When
God is for us, who can stand against us? So God gave him a plan. He said, “Take
a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 You
shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall
do, and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you.”
From
this passage, we learn that we must not resign to any failure in life. The way
to overcome failure is to seek to know that no failure can frustrate the plan
of God. So we must learn to see the larger scheme of God’s overall plan. Yes,
we must seek God and not allow failures to cause us to abort the plan of God.
Remember God is still on the helm. He never tells us that life will be smooth
sailing, but he promises us that we’ll have a safe
landing.
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