God’s Not Finished With You Yet
1Sam 30:23-31:6
Synopsis 1Sam 30:23-31:6 11/10/2018
After the defeat of the Amalekite raiders, a dispute arose. Should those who guarded baggage share in the plunder equally with those who actually fought the Amalekites? So, David resolved the dispute. He made it a rule that those who remained guarding the baggage shared equally with those who fought on the frontlines of battle.
Meanwhile, Saul and the army of Israel fought against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. The Israelites fled and a slaughter ensued. The Philistines killed Saul’s sons. And then, they struck Saul with arrows.
Being mortally wounded, he commanded his armor-bearer to strike him dead. But the armor-bearer was too afraid to comply. So Saul took his own life by falling on a sword before the Philistines could capture him.
Saul Killed Himself
Saul killed himself. He did so to prevent capture by the Philistines. A hopeless man committed a desperate act.
It seems pretty clear that Saul struggled with anxiety and depression for years. There is no recrimination. Concerning Saul, no human being can rightly make a judgement or condemnation. For us who encounter his story, it just is what it is.
God’s Not Finished With You Yet
But depression and anxiety remain. They are affective disorders. So, I may feel anxious or even depressed without my circumstances actually changing for the worse. Or, for the better. The “truth” of my situation can remain the same. But my experience does not.
Affective means “value perceiving”. And so, the common denominator for these maladies seems to be an inability to rightly perceive value. It’s not a moral failure. It’s a condition in the brain.
Though not pretending to understand another person’s suffering, I give thanks for the life being lived. For every courage-filled moment that an afflicted person stays in the game and keeps on contributing, I give thanks for a life of contribution.
Because, no matter the ability or inability to perceive value, if you have breath then God’s not finished with you yet.
“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6
