Fill Your Horn with Oil and Go

"Fill your horn with oil and go..." These words resonate with me greatly. They serve as a powerful instruction from God that can be applied to each one of us. There is blessing in moving forward to the predestined arrangements of God. These words can be found in the Bible in the book of 1 Samuel.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve for Saul, when I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself among his sons.” - 1 Samuel 16:1

Some of us struggle with this idea. We all experience grief, pain, and suffering. We sometimes spend inordinate amounts of time trying to 'process' it, reconcile why it happened, wallow in it, and focus on it. For some reason, it feels like this will help. To talk about that past hurt repeatedly. Vent to your friends about it. Ask God why it happened. Repeat.But there is a season for mourning, and there is a season for going. Rest assured that God does not want us to remain in our brokenness forever. He has a plan - a destination - that He will empower us to move into if only we will follow his lead and keep moving.

Related Post: Struggling is a landmark, not a roadblock.

I have struggled personally with this notion of moving on, in perfect step with God. I know what it's like to hold on to the pain of the past. Cradling pain with you into every situation, relationship, and season you enter into. I'm sure you do as well. You say:Why did...

• this happen to me?
• they hurt me?
• I do that?
• Etc., etc., etc.

It's impossible for us to understand every facet of our lives - the hurt, past sin, or suffering. Instead of handing these things to God, we hang on to them. Often we hang on to them, hoping one day we will finally "get to the bottom," of who, what, where, how, and why. We neglect to meditate on the sovereignty of God and instead take matters into our own hands. We make feeble attempts to figure things out on our own.What we have to understand in this life is that we will not know all the details. Only God does. And that's perfect. All we need to do is trust Him and lay our burdens at His feet. He can sort through, repair, and give us peace of mind when it comes to our past.

All He needs you to do is fill your horn with oil and go!

Oil is a symbol of the anointing of God. As God charges Samuel to fill his horn with oil, He also charges us to fill ourselves with Him. We have to make a daily decision to do this - to move intentionally from grief to filling ourselves with Him. You can meditate on the past or meditate on scripture. You can keep talking about the hurt or talk about God's goodness. And you can keep asking why or to hold fast to the hope laid before you.

Related Post: Believe, Repent, Turn and GO!

As we focus on Christ amid grief, we are empowered and prepared for the season to come. Just as Samuel needed oil in his horn to anoint the new king, we need oil to move into the plans and purposes God has for us. There is a season coming, filled with the new things of God - that will require you to be rooted in His word and filled with His presence.If you, like me, have battled with this before, I urge you to pray. Ask God to help you lay down a former season, burden, relationship, situation, etc. Once God answers this prayer, move forward. Keep going. Look ahead.

For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope. - Jeremiah 29:11

God is not finished yet. Fill your horn with oil and go! Be blessed along the way.