Read: 1 Samuel 15:10-25
I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments. (v. 11)
The worst kind of regret is that which you may have seen coming but hoped you could avoid. This is not the mild regret you feel over buying a new denim jacket when you already have one or eating the last cookie before your spouse gets home. Rather, this is the serious regret you feel after your company hires someone despite the negative comments you heard about their productivity or attitude. Or the regret over investing in stock someone intimated was on a downhill slide. And, I think, it may be the kind of regret God experienced over the kingship of Saul.
Samuel was devastated and angry but still had to communicate the bad news to Saul. Saul arrived clueless and bragging about his accomplishments. He seemed to live life by his own interpretation, wearing his own rose-tinted glasses. I can almost see Samuel hang his head despondently as he conveys the words “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king” (v. 23). No one wants to convey or receive this kind of information.
There is no backtracking to a better, easier, clearer time when it comes to this kind of regret. Regret leaves us to deal with the consequences. However, if we turn to God in obedience and listen well, we can return to the straight path of faithfulness once again.
As you pray, ask God for the wisdom that arises out of listening well and for steadfast obedience.
About the Author
Katy Sundararajan is a specialized minister in the Reformed Church in America. She has garnered her pastoral perspectives from posts as a college chaplain, a missionary, an international student advisor, and a higher education and leadership ministries program coordinator.
