Overview of: 1 SAMUELToday's Reading:
1 Samuel 16:1-23
"Samuel Anoints David"
Focus Verses: 1 Samuel 16:1
1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."
Insight:
There are many interesting things in today's reading. Most of the times I’ve read this chapter, it seems like “the anointing of David” or “Saul's tormenting spirit” grab my attention. But this morning, my wife and I were talking about this text and she shared a wonderful insight from the very first verse.
Samuel had been mourning Saul's demise and corruption, knowing that God had rejected him as king and would no longer bless or help him. One day, God told Samuel to quit looking at the past and mourning what would not change. He said, "Get up, get your anointing oil, and get going. I have chosen a new king!"
Response and Action:
Sometimes it's tempting to just mourn the failures and losses in life. There is a time to mourn, but there is also a time to get up and get going. If we just mourn the past we won't be able to move forward into God's redemptive plan for our future. Today, I want to get up and consider God's anointed plan for what is ahead. I will open my eyes and my heart to new possibilities. I will trust that God's blessing and redemptive power is greater than my past or my failures.
O God, help me to get up and to get going today. Life is draining and difficult and it's so easy to let the past drag me down. Save me from the pessimism of always looking back, O God. Don't let the failures and sin of yesterday blind me to the promise of today and the blessing of tomorrow. Help me to seek you with all my heart. Encourage me by your Holy Spirit, through your Word, your people, your promises, and all that is beautiful and true. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Proverb for Today: Prov. 19:21
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
New Testament for Today: 1 Peter 1:13
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
In Context: 1 Peter 1:3-21
Recommended Reading:
Hope Has Its Reasons: The Search to Satisfy Our Deepest Longings
by Rebecca Manley Pippert
