The Spirit changes us
by Glenn Crouch
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The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person (1 Samuel 10:6).
Read 1 Samuel 10:1–16
We have a bit going on in this passage today. A collection of specific signs is given to Saul that would assure him that the Lord was truly behind the anointing. We see God being faithful to the words delivered through Samuel.
When thinking of signs, I recall the modern tale of the man opening the Bible randomly to discover God’s will. It opened to ‘Judas went and hung himself’ (Matthew 27:5). Worried, he tried again: ‘Go and do likewise’ (Luke 10:37). And then for a third time: ‘Whatever you are about to do, do quickly’ (John 13:27). This is not to deny that God, at times, gives us signs, but we need to be careful we are not taking a ‘fortune cookie’ approach to our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Signs can be tricky, especially when we ask for them – Saul didn’t ask for them. Unlike Saul, we have been blessed with the most awesome sign of all – the cross of Jesus. We know for sure that God loves us and is for us.
It is the coming of the Spirit that changes Saul (verse 6). In verse 9, we see that God changed his heart. Real change that changes each of us into the person we were meant to be comes via the Spirit of God.
Is there someone who needs their heart changed by the Spirit? Pray for that to happen.
Gracious Father, I ask that your Spirit continue to work upon my heart. Grant me the strength and courage to face the changes that I need. Thank you for the cross of your dear Son and for the assurance it gives me that I am your dear child. In his name, I pray. Amen.
Glenn is the pastor of St John’s Lutheran Church in Esperance and looks after St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Kalgoorlie–Boulder, Western Australia. Glenn and Karen have been married since 1985. They have two grown sons and are enjoying regular video chats with their first grandchild.
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