Living in the Spirit
June 11, 2018
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
–1 Samuel 15:34-35
Humans make mistakes and God lets us. Sometimes we learn from our mistakes and that is a good thing. It is the times that we do not learn from our mistakes that should concern us. When we make mistakes, we experience a variety of emotional responses: anger, humiliation, shame, embarrassment, even fear. I backed out of farm driveway without paying much attention to what was behind me and backed into a drainage ditch burying my back wheels. I had to enlist the aid of the sick farmer I was visiting to pull me out and send me on my way. I felt all those listed emotions. I was a young social worker making one of my first home visits.
I have not thought much about my mistakes making the Lord sorry but the words from Handel’s Messiah sourced from Isaiah 53:3 supports the idea. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. We can take comfort in the knowledge that the Lord knows exactly how we have erred and how we feel about it, and he loves us anyway. While we may be required to deal with others who may not be as magnanimous, God will always stand with us and if we welcome God, God can show us how to deal with those mistakes and learn from them.
I also can identify with Samuel. He had given in to the demands of the people knowing that their desire for a king was not the right solution to their situation at the time. It is hard for most of us to own the responsibility that changes in our behavior is often the answer to problems we face. I spent some time recently with a person who is dealing with some real challenges, but all the person’s proposed solutions required work on other people’s part over which the person had no control.
Being honest with ourselves as we examine our lives each day is a great place to start a quest for a better life and a better world.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your loving guidance and mercy. Help me examine myself and to apply the things I learn from my mistakes to future actions. Amen.