Tuesday, May 14: “Seasons of Suffering III”

1 Samuel 16: 1a: “Now the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go.‘“

Imagine the grief of Samuel: He had found Saul, anointed him, and mentored him for quite some time. But Saul got proud, and the Lord removed His Spirit from him. Even Jesus–like all of us, He was acquainted with grief. He experienced not only the passing of His earthly father, but also the fall, betrayal, and death of His own familiar friend, Judas (Psalm 41: 9). When Lazarus died, He wept (John 11: 35). Why? Because He grieved. There is a reason Isaiah called the Messiah “A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53: 3) To grieve is not wrong; if we deny our grief, it will eventually drown us, and we won’t even realize what is happening. Yet that is not necessary, for, as Isaiah goes on to say, that same Messiah bore our griefs (v. 4). So, we fill our horn (strength) with the oil (of gladness) and go–go on with our lives; not drowning in grief, but walking atop it.