A couple days ago I posted a picture of my car after a hail storm came out of the mountains throwing nearly tennis ball size hail down around my office. Every car in the parking lot experienced damage - at least 300 vehicles. Some people saw the destruction of their property and cried. Others jumped into action hoping that insurance would turn things around for them. Some just sat in disbelief, not wanting to admit that they lost something that they had given so much value to.
I've chosen joy. It definitely sucks to have something that you depend on get ruined. It sucks to have something that you've given value to, suddenly lose a lot of it without warning. I've learned though that being upset about this kind of thing doesn't help. Anger or frustration aren't going to fix my car. Even worse, anger and frustration aren't going to build up and into the people that God has surrounded me with. I can't be a good witness with that kind of attitude.
Over time God has shown me that His plan is always great. I can look back at times and see that although it sucked in the moment, the end result was great. For example - moving to Charleston and being homeless for a week - that was rough, but I ended up developing some of the greatest relationships I may ever have. Tonight I read about how King Saul had a similar experience.
In 1 Samuel 9, Saul's father sends him out on a trip to find some donkeys that had run away from them. Donkeys were a part of their way of life. Based on other stories in the Bible we know that people of this time often used donkeys to travel and get around. The same way we use our cars, the people of this time used donkeys. They would ride one, and use the others to transport the other things they needed to carry. Probably one for groceries and one for a change of clothes and maybe a tent if the grocery store was a long way away. We don't know how many donkeys Saul's father had, but even if I had a multitude of cars, I'd still be upset if I lost one. Saul and his father are most likely feeling some negative emotions as they try to figure out what they might do if they never find their donkeys. Their first choice is to put everything they have into trying to find the donkeys in case they can be found and returned to do their duties.
It turns out that Saul's search for the donkeys led him in the direction of Samuel (a prophet of that time). Saul had heard of Samuel and knew that he was a prophet, so hoped he could tell him which direction to go to find his donkeys. As soon as Samuel sees Saul, he already knows who Saul is and why he has come. At this point, Saul doesn't even know why he has really come!
When Saul finally reaches Samuel, he's invited to come eat with him and is told not to worry about his donkeys because they have been found safe. Saul thought that he had traveled to Samuel in order to find his lost donkeys, but in reality, God used Saul's donkeys to bring the two men together so something much greater could happen. God had asked Samuel to name Saul the first king of Israel.
From Saul's point of view, his whole trip was one that involved a very large burden and some negative emotions. He was probably fearful that the donkeys wouldn't be found, angry that they had run away, and maybe even financially scared of what they would do if they couldn't find them. How do you react when you misplace something of value? Do you ever lost a credit card, wallet, purse, or phone when you're running errands and start freaking out thinking you may have left it somewhere and you'll never see it again?
Would you react differently if you knew you'd find your wallet with $100 more dollars in it? What if the person that found your phone was going to be your future wife/husband?
God always has a plan for us, and because of His position in our lives as our loving Father we can trust that His plan will be beneficial to us even if it doesn't seem like it is at the time.
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