Stop Mourning What God is Finished With

            We all know that change can be difficult. However, there are many seasons in life that we simply must move on from, even when it’s difficult to do so. We may have really enjoyed or had been comfortable in the last season of our lives. The next season of life may even look incredibly daunting, different, or just plain unknown.

But when God chooses to close a door, it is likely that He is about to open a greater one.

           That is, if we choose to walk in it.

            I want to clarify something before I get into today’s post. When I refer to mourning today, I am referring to prolonged mourning. I don’t say this coldly or insensitively. I know how hard it is to move on from something you really loved – whether it was a season, a relationship, or a place – and I understand that everyone grieves differently.

It is perfectly natural (and even healthy) to mourn something that you loved that has come to an end. But there may come a time when prolonged mourning is preventing you from walking in what God has next for you. This is what I want to talk about today.

           

Let’s be honest. Many of us have the tendency to hold on to some things longer than we should, whether it’s a season in life, a relationship, or even a grudge.

            But what happens when we’re holding on to something that God has finished with?

            In 1 Samuel 16:1, God speaks to Samuel the prophet. In the previous chapter, God had removed King Saul’s anointing to be king because he had sinned. Furthermore, none of Saul’s descendants would ever be on Israel’s throne again. God would instead anoint David, the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, to rule instead.

In fact, 1 Samuel 15:35 says that God regretted, or was grieved by, making Saul king over Israel because of the wickedness that he had fallen into. Here we find Samuel in chapter 16 verse 1 mourning over Saul’s downfall.

“Now the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing as I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.’”

            Sometimes we must choose to stop mourning for the past, for what used to be, or what we used to have. When God has removed His anointing from something, it’s time to leave it.

One thing I have seen and learned over the years is that when God is finished with something – whether it’s a relationship, a job, a season, etc. – He usually has something better for us right around the corner. It may not always come right away, but if we trust God and wait on His perfect timing, He will guide and sustain us.

            What God will do next when we grow in Christ will always be greater than what we insist on holding on to. It may not always look so. In fact, it may look like God took you out of a great place in your life only to drop you in one of the worst times in your life. 

The Israelites felt that way when they felt like God rescued them from centuries of slavery in Egypt only to let them die in the wilderness. But as one of my favourite quotes says: “The God of the process is the same God of the outcome.” What the Israelites didn’t understand was that God was Lord over the Promised Land and Lord over the wilderness.

God is still in control of every season of your life – the great ones, the in-between ones, and the terrible ones.

Trusting God is not easy, especially when we don’t understand what He is doing. Yet we have His word that His plans are for our good (see Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28). Our loving Heavenly Father is omniscient. Leaving our lives in His capable hands is not only wise, but also our best option.

            Friends, I say this to myself just as much as I say this to you today. Don’t delay or prevent the great things God has in store for you because of your refusal to let go of what He is already finished with.

            God has a David in your future if you will only trust Him enough to choose to not prolong mourning over your Saul and follow where He leads.

            Walk in the ways of the Lord, seek His will, and trust His timing. It’s worth it.

            Let’s do it together.

            –Olivia

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