“Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to…” ~ I Samuel 16:1

The LORD challenges His servant to leave what is behind and to go forward. To reframe His words to Samuel, the LORD challenges us, “How long? How long will you look back on what might have been, could have been or should have been? How long will you hold on to the vision of the past.” God has declared a new direction. God has rejected the old. He has a new direction and a new work for you and for me. He said to Samuel, “Fill your horn with oil, and go.” He encourages us also to get ready to move forward. And that forward movement is not a willy-nilly propulsion fueled by our fickle moods or passing fancies. No. God Himself wants to move us forward into His present-day plan for our lives. As He said to Samuel, “I am sending you..”. May each of us be responsive to the LORD’s direction and leading.

“O God, You know me. I thank You, You love me in my severely flawed and broken state. Lord Jesus, thank You for new life: new creation in me and Your presence in my life. O God, as the sun rises in the morning, so rise over me today. Shine forth, warm my earth, bring light and song to my day. May Jesus Christ be praised!”