When "Circumstances" Are "Consequences"

"Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship YHWH." Samuel replied to Saul, "I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of YHWH, YHWH has rejected you from being king over Israel." - 1 Samuel 15:25-26

King Saul sinned greatly in not obeying God's command concerning the destruction of the Amalekites. He first tried to deflect the blame, then he tried to justify his actions, and finally he attempted to get everyone to see it as a big mistake, forget it, and move on. Of course, God and Samuel would have none of it. Saul's sin could be forgiven, but the consequences would not be erased.

God is love, but He is also merciful, gracious, faithful, and just. Could a just and righteous God allow sin to go unpunished? Jesus took the ultimate penalty of sin for all who believe by His vicarious, atoning death and resurrection. Yet, all should understand that though sinful error is forgiven by God, the consequences can remain for a lifetime. Those whom the Lord loves, He chastens and bearing the consequences of sinful actions is one way by which we are brought back into obedience.

Saul just wanted it all to go away. He didn't like his "circumstances" and wanted them to change, but like him we all need to know that sometimes our "circumstances" are just "consequences."

Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences. - Norman Cousins