The people of Israel wanted a king like all the other nations had. The prophet Samuel warned the people that they did not want a king. A king would tax them, take their land and force them to serve him, warned Samuel. But the people insisted and so God told Samuel to give them what they wanted. God even told Samuel who to choose as the first king of Israel; a man named Saul.
Saul started out serving God as king, but ended up serving himself. It got so bad that God rejected Saul as king. It is at this point in the story that we pick up in 1 Samuel 16:1, "God addressed Samuel:'So, how long are you going to mope over Saul? You know I've rejected him as king over Israel, Fill your flask with anointing oil and get going. I'm sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I've spotted the very king I want among his sons."
Samuel was moping over the failure. He had done what God told him to do and it it failed. Saul had a free will. His will led him to act contrary to God's will. The "King Saul plan" failed and Samuel was sick over it.
Been there? I have. Just because we do what God asks of us does not mean we will reap success. Sometimes we can be doing everything right and yet still nothing goes right. Some people (we call them Fundamentalists in theological terms) are offended by this. They back peddle and say in order for God to be sovereign he has to determine all that happens in this world--the good and the bad. The truth is other world religions believe this about their God, but we don't. We believe that God has a will, but that our will can divert or detour God's will. That is what Samuel was experiencing as he mourned the failed "king Saul plan".
But God said, enough will the moping, "get going." There is a time to mourn the failure and a time to get up and get going. Just because the will of people can divert and detour God's will does not mean God cannot redeem and reroute all things, even failures, back in line with his good and perfect will. Now that is the power of sovereignty--God allowing free will to ruin his plan and yet God being able to use even what we have ruined to accomplish his will.
I wonder if anyone reading this needs permission to quit mopping and get moving forward from failure. I can relate to that? How about you? The message of God to Samuel and to us is the same, failure is never final where we let God give us permission to quit moping and get going!
Well, enough of this...I am going to get going...
PS I want to thank Dr. Doug Van Nest for sharing these thoughts with a group of pastors today. I know God used it to speak to me.
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