The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will your mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way’. 1 Samuel 16:1
The people of Israel had rejected God as their King having pined for what everyone else had—a human king who sat on a tangible throne. (What is it about ‘normal’ that we as humans tend to want so badly?) God listened to Israel and appointed Samuel to anoint Saul as king. Samuel poured a flask of oil over Saul’s head, kissed him and so their journey began. The storied history the two of them shared would be difficult for either of them to walk away from. Theirs was no casual friendship. It was spiritual, significant and impacted the lives of a nation. A coupling of a prophet and king had been bound together in God’s story—No one wants to be the one to ever sever something this divine.
Down the road Saul’s heart rebelled against the Lord. He spared the best of the Amalekite’s cattle for an offering even though the Lord had commanded him to destroy the whole lot of them. Saul’s version of sacrifice became more important to him than God’s definition of obedience. To obey is always better than sacrifice. As a result of Saul’s rebellion God rejected him as king over Israel.
And Samuel mourned.
Because we mourn for our broken relationships. We long for what could have been. What was supposed to be! We lament for the pain such tearing away will cause ourselves, and the way it will affect others. We wonder if God will be able to replace him or her or this utterly divine plan that seemed so perfect in the beginning. We ask what went wrong? A million times, what went wrong? And we can’t bear to say goodbye.
And then God says, How long, dear one, will you mourn?
Fill your horn with oil.
Be on your way.
I have something new for you to do.
This is not justification for abandoning ministries or marriages or motherhood, or for walking away from what is simply hard. Often obedience means sticking it out. But in this case God was moving Samuel on because He had already moved on. God would deal with Saul but this was no longer Samuel’s business. Even though Samuel had stopped visiting Saul we’re told he still mourned for him (1 Sam 15:35). Even though Samuel was no longer tied up with Saul in person, his emotions were. His thoughts and his energies were still mired in grief, binding him to a dream now done.
I remember the Lord delivering this passage to me during a time when I couldn’t let a relationship go. It was dead in the water. It bore no fruit. It brought the Lord no pleasure. It saddled me with misery. Still, it was getting the best of my heart and thoughts. And then God brought me to 1 Samuel 16:1. It was time for the new thing. Time to find a horn and some oil and get on with it. New relationships and opportunities lay ahead.
No sense in spending the precious present mourning for the past when God has already moved on.
For Samuel, God had a new king for him to anoint and he couldn’t do this while lamenting the old one. A shepherd boy was unwittingly waiting in the fields for Samuel to relinquish what had been so he could be part of what was to be. King David was part of Samuel’s future but he couldn’t have gotten there while still mourning Saul.
What new thing is the Lord asking of you? Is there anything old or cold you’re still giving your thoughts, emotions or energies to? Do you need to let go of something in the past so you can embrace the present? May you hear the beautiful and unwavering words of the Lord this morning, Be on your way… And any way in which the Lord is leading you promises to be a good way, indeed.
Guest Blog And A Few Other Things
Just a quick note to let you know that I did a guest blog for @edstetzer ‘s Thursday is for Thinkers. Today I wrote about The Gospel versus Religious Mission. If you get a chance, check out what’s going on over there and leave a thought… or two. www.edstetzer.com
It has been a whirlwind summer as I’ve been finishing up a book on the virtues entitled The Fitting Room: Putting On The Character Of Christ. It will be out in April of 2011. I say all this to let you know why I have been terribly absent from the blog. What my excuse will be for the rest of the year, I have no idea. Social media is not my strong suit.
A HUGE thank you to Beth Moore and Living Proof Ministries for their enormous blessing of facilitating the Ruth study during the Summer Siesta Bible Study. I love Beth’s teaching and am grateful for real women who live with integrity and love Jesus passionately. You get all of this with Beth and her studies and live events. And, many, many thanks to all of you who participated, as well as for your kind comments. They have been a blessing.
Off to water the flowers. They are dying in this Nashville heat!!!!
Shipping Update on Beth Moore Summer Study
Hey Everyone,
I’m sorry that I have been quite out of touch since being out of the country in Brazil, specifically on a boat cruising down the Amazon. And when I say ‘cruising’, please don’t think anything even close to a cruise ship, because the only thing the two have in common is their ability to float. Much more on what God did on our trip in posts to come…
Many of you are wondering if you can get your Ruth Study(s) from this website and how quickly they will arrive, especially in regard to Beth Moore’s summer study. Yes, you can order them here, (or get them at your local LifeWay Store). Please know that we are expediting our shipments to you so you can get your Ruth study(s) as soon as possible. If you have any questions or issues, please contact us at Minterstore@comcast.net, and we’ll get back to you right away. If you need more info on Beth’s Summer Study you can visit her blog by clicking here.
Can’t wait to share with you about my trip to the Amazon. God is so desirous to use His people to take the Gospel (and everything the Gospel means and does) to the ends of the earth. To be entrusted with the treasure of the Gospel is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. This I know.
Flooding And Devastation In Nashville
As many of you know, Nashville (and other areas) experienced widespread flooding over the weekend. Currently the sun is out, the wind is calm and the birds have returned to their morning songs. However, the wake of devastation is enormous. I am thankful to be in an area where the worst we had was running up and down our rickety basement stairs to empty buckets and trash cans of water, along with several trees down. You can see my ahead-of-its-time water catcher above, something my friend put together when suddenly water started pouring in through a loose brick. This was absolutely nothing compared to all the lost homes, and even lives, that have been lost over the past two days.
Recipe of The Month Folks!
Alright, I missed the recipe of the month in March because I got a little overwhelmed writing this book on the Christian virtues. It’s due soon, actually tomorrow, though I don’t think I’m going to quite make it – especially if I keep doing things like blog about French toast. Will let you know how it goes… Again, thank you all so much for your very helpful comments on the blog regarding the book a few months ago. They were very helpful. Alright, onto the French toast!
This is what all the people gathered around my table are eating on Easter morning. My dear friend, April, whipped it up the night before, and I’m telling you, this dish will make you a hero in your family, neighborhood, social network – wherever you need hero status. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
7 Eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
Egg Bread (or Italian Sweet Bread)
Directions:
Put 1/2 stick butter and 1 cup brown sugar and 2 teaspoons in bottom of 13×9 inch pan and put in oven until butter is melted. Take out of oven and mix all three ingredients together until you have a nice glaze covering the bottom of the pan. Place thick slices (1.5 inch ea.) of Egg Bread (or bread of your choice) over the glaze covering the entire dish (just one layer). Then whisk 7 eggs and 1-1/2 cups of milk together in bowl. Once whisked, pour over the bread slices in the pan. Cover and put in fridge overnight. Wake up the next morning, preheat your oven to 350 while get your coffee on… Then bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
Super easy. Delicious. Not healthy, but great for the psyche!
Hope you all are enjoying spring. Thanks for the prayers regarding this book. More to come soon…
Forgiveness
Okay, so a few months ago I posted a blog regarding the Christian virtues, or graces, that we are to “clothe” ourselves in, and your responses were very helpful – and honest, which I love. (Here’s the link if you missed it, or want to add a thought). Since then I have been writing furiously on the virtues listed in Colossians 3:12, along with a bunch of other aspects that go with how to practically put these virtues “on”. All of which will help get me to my goal of 50,000 words. Yes, writing is that romantic.
And since this book has managed to coil its tendrils around every waking moment of my consciousness I have all but ignored my blog, something my friends remind me of every day (probably because they’re the only ones who read it, or sincerely believe others do…)
So, I’m posting an excerpt on forgiveness from the book that will be out in May of 2011, if I don’t first die from staring at my computer screen. (Click the title to keep reading…)