Being Sure
Today’s scripture selection: First Samuel 11-15
Key verse: First Samuel 15:29
“He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”
The prophet Samuel was not one to beat around the bush. He came right to the point. And one of the main problems he had with the people he served was that they would rather put their trust in man than God. They had done that by demanding Saul as their king. Then, when that wasn’t working out too well, they wanted someone else.
In response Samuel reminded Saul and the people that God is anything but fickle. He is consistent. He keeps His promises.
That’s something to hold onto in a world where so much changes, so quickly.
One of the things that I hear often is people complaining how “unsure” things are in their lives. Their career plans seem to be shifting under their feet, dependent on what the latest “change of management” above them has decided. If they are parents, they often say they don’t know how to confront the constantly changing challenges of parenthood. If they are older, and their health is failing, they say they can’t even trust that their own bodies to work like they should.
Change is constant – and stressful – and inevitable.
But God is constant too: God’s love, strength, wisdom, compassion, guidance – all consistent – and all constant.
That’s something you can count on today.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your consistent, wise, loving presence in my life. AMEN.
By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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