How Long Will You Mourn?

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?”   

We have all lost things that meant a lot to us.  Maybe a set of earrings or clothes, or even a phone.  It is natural to feel remorse and to want that something back just the way it was before it was lost.  After college, I moved out and got my own apartment.  After I moved, it dawned on me that I was the only one there all the time, no one was going to come in any more.  Part of that was great, but I still missed the fun times with friends every day.  I got over it and eventually learned to move forward in my new life at my new place. 

Saul was king for over 40 years, that is a long time. Here we find Samuel mourning over Saul after a mighty fall from grace.  Samuel was the guy who anointed him and coached him in the ways of the Lord.  After the day he rebuked Saul, he never spoke or visited him again. For the Star Wars fans, this is very similar to the relationship between Obi-wan and Anakin’s fall to the dark side when he became Darth Vader. Samuel obviously had a deep connection to Saul that was hard for him to recover from. In this chapter, Samuel would anoint David as the next king over Israel while he was still a boy at the Lord’s direction. 

Maybe you have had those friends fly out of your life for one reason or another.  Maybe you are still stuck on something that happened in the past.  The Lord is asking you today, “How long will you mourn?” While there is certain times in our lives to have a grieving period, are you still dealing with a loss that the Lord is calling you to move on from? God is preparing a way for you and it may not be with the people or you are with now.  Just like Samuel, He might be asking you to move on because He has something greater for you.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you that you have a great plan for my life. I confess that sometimes I get caught up in the past or on what could have been instead of focusing on the future you have for me. Help me to stop mourning, forgive myself, and forgive others so I can live in the fullness of life in Christ. Amen.