Read 1 Samuel 15:10-11, 15:34-16:1
“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 Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.’”—1 Samuel 16:1
God told Samuel He was removing Saul as king for his continued disobedience. Yet, after anointing Saul as king, mentoring him, and suffering through Saul’s repeated missteps, Samuel was invested in Saul. Now, God reminded Samuel, Saul had his opportunity and he failed. He’s the wrong person for the job. Let Saul go; it’s time to move forward.
You’ve invested in someone by pouring your heart, energy, and resources into them with tender care. Despite the telltale signs of trouble and the heartache life with them has caused, you love them. Now, God says you need to let them go and move forward. It’s not that they’re a bad person, only wrong for you and for this season in your life. Yet, you’re sad for the loss.
As God asked Samuel: How long will we allow the wrong people to take up residence in our lives? How long will we be distracted and detoured by their missteps? How long will we continue to invest in people who continue to fail us?
Sometimes, letting go of the wrong people in our lives is easier said than done. Often it’s the hardest thing we’ll ever do, even when we know it’s for the best. Yet, holding onto people beyond their season is like holding on to spoiled grapes; they will only sour and spread their decay to others.
Freeing ourselves of the wrong people produces positive results we can’t even imagine. Because we can’t imagine life without them, we can’t see what God has planned for us. As long as we hold onto the “Saul” in our lives, we can never move forward with the “David” waiting to come into our lives.
Stop mourning the loss of people who are best removed from your life. Set them free—set yourself free.
Lesson to Remember: Keeping the wrong people in your life results in wrong things happening in your life. Set them free—set yourself free.
“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.”—Proverbs 12:26
Letting go of those that are “Not right for this season of your life” is definitely easier said than done. Sometimes an intervention helps with the separation (as God did for Samuel) but the mourning is real for the loss is similar to the way life changes when a loved one dies. It hurts to give up on someone in whom you have invested yourself. This SB nails every aspect of the situation in a few well placed words. Going to make it my screen saver.
You are absolutely right! The loss is exactly like the mourning we experience with bereavement because it is the death of a relationship. And that’s hard! Thank you for sharing. NH