A Golden Opportunity
Today’s scripture selection: First Samuel 21-25
Key verse: First Samuel 24:19
It was a golden opportunity.
David had a chance to kill the man who was pursuing him – a man he knew wanted him dead – King Saul.
But he didn’t take it. Though he crept up behind him, so close he could literally cut a piece of Saul’s robe from him, he didn’t do it. His sword stayed in its place.
Later, that act of unexpected mercy caused Saul to turn from pursuing the man he was determined to destroy.
An important lesson.
We all have our own “golden opportunities” –
- To do harm or good
- To get our revenge or let it go
- To prove we are “right”
- To prove we are smarter, or more clever
- To get our way
- To destroy or give our adversary – real or imagined – another chance.
It’s not easy to choose the right way. It never is. But, if we listen to that “still small voice” of our conscience – it’s usually clear.
Justice or mercy. Win or walk away.
One of those golden opportunities might just come today.
Which will it be?
Prayer: Lord, show me how to be merciful, just as you are merciful with me. AMEN.
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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 for “expectant hope.” 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, a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors, and a member of Spiritual Directors International. 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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