Out with the old, in with the new...

I made a trip to the Little Apple for New Year's. It's a good time and not just because I'm with friends. Aggieville hosts a night of live music capped off with fireworks and a laser-light show to kick-off the new year for the thousands brave enough to face the cold and celebrate the turning of a calendar page with their neighbors.

A new year offers the opportunity (some would say 'excuse') to change and set goals for one's life. I've set several New Year's resolutions for 2011, which is nothing that out of the ordinary except maybe that I've already started working on them. In case you're curious, I have 3:

1. WALKING...by the end of the semester, I was walking/running 20-25 miles a week. I would like to continue this.
2. COFFEE...I am not a true coffee drinker and likely never will be. I'm one who likes a 'little coffee with my cream and sugar'. However, I've been making an attempt to cut back on the sugar I use with my coffee and cream.
3. SAVINGS...My friend Jon is probably better at this than anyone I know. I am not a big spender, but I would like to be more like him in this area.

This past fall my church in Fort Collins offered a number of classes on the Bible and spiritual living. One of the courses caught my interest, a course on the Old Testament. Since it was advertised as a class on the history of the Old Testament, I assumed it would be a course on just that: the history of the Old Testament. I was wrong.

It turned out to be more of a course on how the story of Christ is mirrored and alluded to through the tale of the ancient Israelites. At times this seemed more of a stretch than sound doctrine (I come from the school of thought that some of the OT stories stand on their own), but I still enjoyed the class. If nothing else, taking the course forced me to reread much of the Old Testament.

I'm not sure when the last time was when I read through this portion of the Bible and I'm always surprised at what I learn or what catches my eye with a second read. This time through it was the story of Saul.

In the past, I had always dismissed Saul, for lack of a better term, as an idiot. Here was a man who had been chosen by God to lead the 12 Tribes of Israel only to waste most of his reign chasing after David and ultimately mess it up by seeking the advise of a witchdoctor near the end. He made poor decisions throughout his life and was eventually replaced as king because of it. But this time as I read his story, it was different. I found myself relating to his story; I found compassion for this man.

What brought about the change was the realization that at nearly every turn Saul sought God's will and advice, even when he visited the sorcerer! The problem was he didn't go about it in a proper manner and didn't wait for God's timing, he wasn't patient in other words. He wanted answers and he wanted them now! This was the lesson learned for me; how often have I demanded an immediate response only to rush into action when it's not given?

So this year, in addition to the 3 before mentioned resolutions, I resolve to learn from Saul. To continue to seek God's guidance and, arguably more importantly for me, to wait for His response.