Have you grieved over someone? Have you grieved over someone who God had rejected? Did you know that God had rejected them? Did you know they had rejected God? Were you able to move on? Did you hear God encourage you to continue to do the work he had set aside for you?
Grieving is difficult. It is different for each person. It can be more difficult if we are grieving a family member who did not accept Jesus as their Savior. We can blame ourselves. We can feel guilty for not doing more to convince them to accept Jesus as their Savior.
Samuel was probably grieving partially for Saul and partially for himself. He likely felt guilty that he had not done more to convince Saul to change his ways. Yet, there are people, no matter how hard we try, who will never accept Jesus as their Savior. It is disheartening. It is frustrating. I’m sure Samuel felt those feelings as he was grieving for Saul. In fact, he may have been grieving over Saul long before Saul died.
Yet, God urges us to move forward. He has more for us to do. We cannot change the past; we can only seek to change the future. God had a plan for Samuel to anoint the next king for Israel—David, son of Jesse. Samuel had a task set before him. Perhaps God gave Samuel the task to get him to move on. God may do the same thing for us.
Though we may grieve, we also must move on. Moving on does not mean we forget the person we are grieving, but it means we recognize we have additional works to complete. We understand God has more for us in his plan. We continue to look toward the day when we will meet God face-to-face and seek to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
I pray we all grieve when we need to. I pray we move on from the grief when God urges us to. I pray each one of us know that God has a plan for us, and we continue to work for him. Grieve when needed. Know when to move on. Know God has a plan for you. Continue to work for God.
1 Samuel 16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
Marty Pressey 