I Samuel 25:1
“Then Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David set out and went down to the wilderness of Paran.”
I'm sure they mourned indeed. Samuel judged Israel for twelve years, but was an influence around forty years. A generation had the comfort and guidance of his godly wisdom. They were left with the foolish and self serving king Saul. Whose paranoia drove him to spend national resources and attention to pursue and kill David.
Saul ordered the killing of dozens of prophets for assisting David. I'm sure the nation was horrified at hearing that news. Samuel had known and mourned them. Now a bright light in Israel had gone out. Samuel was gone.
At this point, David wasn't ready to take the throne and wouldn't for quite a few while. The state of the nation was a sad one. Their leader was godless at heart and their godly influence was gone.
We will have dark periods in our lives. We are in a dark time in our nation presently. We went through a pandemic, our leaders don't seem to be helping. There are shortages of all types, disagreements nationally, a great deal of freedom appears to be at risk, some of our churches have made foolish decisions, the divide in our nation is great.
All of us deal with the state of our nation differently. Many check out of the news and focus on their own lives and families. Some tune in and buy in to the narratives. Ephesians 4:14 describe what that's like, "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting".
We are to be God fearing. We look to Him in all things, particularly in times of trouble. We may or may not get answers in the moment, but we will get His peace. The bible informs us about involvement. We do so at some level. Jesus said to "give unto Ceaser that which is Ceaser's and to God that which is God's". We are to support our government unless it is contrary to the bible.
God also tells us how to be with each other. We are to love all. This is huge, as our country is divided and some make it difficult. This makes up part of our struggle, difficult or self serving people. We have to focus on the Lord. Jesus loved in spite of how people acted. He is God and could have done anything, but He chose to love.
We can't be nostalgic about a better time. God has us where we are and He will comfort and use us to bless and comfort others. God wants us to give thanks in all things. Not for the misfortunate time, but that He is in control and He will reach some in an amazing way.
God has gifted us individually and will use us to glorify His name. We can be an agent of blessing where we are at. We are part of a team. Wonderfully one that will win. He will arrange circumstances and equip us for use.
Lord, thank You that we can trust You in tough times. You will use all situations and be glorified within them. Thank You for including us.