The only constant...

Life never ceases to amaze me. It's amazingly strong, yet desperately fragile as well. We all begin our days expecting them to go just like we planned- or at least fairly close to it. When I get up to go to work in the morning, I anticipate coming home that evening to a home and husband and kitty cats, eating dinner, relaxing, talking, maybe checking email, reading, or watching TV. Then I go to bed and expect to wake up and do something similar the next day. Occasionally though, something happens during the course of a day that completely colors everything else after it- so that even though we may do some of the same things, they feel very different. It could be something wonderful and grand that makes all of life seem rosy and bright. It could be something terrible and sad that leaves the world feeling hollow, empty, lonely and dark. I'm sure we've all had moments, whether big or small, happy or sad, that affect us that way. It may affect us for a day, a week or perhaps months or years. Life can, and does, change in the blink of an eye.

Saul left one morning to head out to look for lost sheep. He ran out of provisions, so I'm guessing he anticipated finding them sooner than he did. Little did he know, that God was using those sheep to bring him to a divine appointment with a 'seer,' Samuel. As renown as Samuel had become at this point, I find it interesting that Saul knew so little about him. They were even from the same region. This leads me to believe that Saul probably didn't have a lot of interest in spiritual matters. That meeting Saul had with Samuel was one of those moments that colors all the rest. In his case, it would color the rest of his life.

Samuel anointed Saul as Israel's first king. If that doesn't count as life changing, I'm not sure what does. Samuel told him his life would change. "The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person." (1 Samuel 10:6) Saul went from being a young man very uninterested in spiritual matters to joining the prophets in speaking God's words. He was so changed that it astonished everyone who knew him. I find it interesting that his first act as king was to proclaim the word of God.

But, when the time came for Saul to be presented as king before all Israel, he was found hiding among the baggage. Perhaps the gleam had worn off the crown and the full weight of his responsibilities had set in. Maybe he had partied a little too hard and was "sleeping it off." Who knows. What is clear is that he was hiding from responsibility. It even seems he reluctantly accepted it then. He left that great ceremony and went home, back to farming and life as usual.

Sometimes, after those huge life changing events, we just want life to go back to normal. We want it to look the way it did just seconds before. That's the thing about change. It changes us. "The new and different circumstances demand a new and different response, and even demand a new and different us."(1) We don't always have the option to forgo change, but we can choose how we respond to it, and how it changes us.

Shortly after this, we see the Spirit of the Lord come on Saul again, and he leads the Israelites to a great victory, united behind him and Samuel. I refer you to Philippians 2:13; "for it is God who works in you to will and act according to His good purpose." In those moments when the change is overwhelming, I pray we will remember that. Life may change, and we may feel we don't have the ability to cope with it or measure up to the expectations of it. God can work in us to accomplish His good purposes. We have to cling to Him in the many different seasons life brings our way.

Samuel points all of Israel to this amazing truth in the last chapter of our reading today. Again, Israel is reminded of all that God has done for them and their ancestors. We need to remember all God has done for us! The covenant didn't change. God still told them that if they continued to follow Him, that all would be good for them and their king. But, if they or the king continued to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, then they would be swept away. I love these verses:

"Do not be afraid. You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart."

Maybe you've hidden in the baggage or done evil things. We know from reading Judges that Israel had become VERY evil. God's earnest desire is always for us to to turn TO Him, not FROM Him, and serve Him with all our heart. He is the one constant we can cling to in this life- and beyond. May we continue to hold on to Him as God brings us into a new season at Oak Hill. And may we all remember that we have a great king who protects us, leads us and- best of all- changes us!

(1) from Intentional Choices: discovering contentment in stressful times, leader guide; p. 116