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’. 1 Samuel 16:1
Fill Your Horn and Go
In the passage above, Israel had rejected God as their King because they wanted a human king sitting on a real-life throne. God answered Israel’s prayers and appointed Samuel to anoint Saul as their king. Somewhere along the way, Saul turned and rebelled against God. He went against the Lord’s commands to destroy all of the Amalekite’s cattle and spared the best of them for offering. What deliberate disobedience! (And asking for trouble!) Saul’s rebellion against God resulted in him being rejected by God as King over Israel.
Samuel was heartbroken. He had a special connection with Saul. He had anointed him, as God had appointed him to do. They had history and now things had changed. Samuel mourned. And mourned. And mourned. Finally, God basically asked Samuel, How long do you plan on mourning this situation? It is not going to change, and I have more work for you ahead. Then He said these little known but highly profound words: Fill your horn with oil and go. Samuel had been given another command from God. He didn’t want to go. He was holding out hope that this situation with Saul would fix itself by some miracle. But God had plans for Samuel ahead. He needed him to move on. He needed him and also had wonderful and great things for him ahead.
We all can probably sympathize a little with Samuel, some of us more than others. How long have we held on to something that was permanently broke, hoping we could fix it? How long have we stayed in the dead waters of a church, marriage, friendship, business, etc. waiting for life to come back again? Sometimes God has us waiting for a reason, but sometimes He is waiting on us to move on, to fill our horn with oil and go. Fear can certainly keep us in a warm, comfortable, but terribly wrong place. It can paralyze us to moving in blind faith, because so often when we move in faith our eyes are completely blinded to what is ahead. But what are we missing out on? We may be missing incredible things that God is waiting to do through us or in our lives. It is hard to let go, especially when we are attached, good or bad, to what we are holding tight to. We won’t stop God’s plans by not moving on when He wants us to, but we will miss out.
What has the Lord asked of you lately? Has He asked you to let go of something you don’t want to let go of? Please do not misunderstand this devotional as a word from the Lord to quit your family, or ministry, or any hard thing you just don’t want to do. This is a message to you to listen and evaluate. Are you hanging on to anything you shouldn’t be hanging on to? There could be wonderful things ahead. Listen for His calling – Fill your horn with oil and be on your way… Wherever the Lord leads is a good way to go.
Scripture to Claim:
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land… Isaiah 1:19
