1 Samuel 10

Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

(1Sa 10:6)

So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.

(1Sa 10:9)

It is interesting and worthwhile to note these verses as we begin this study of the life of Saul. I pointed out yesterday that Saul was the “people’s choice” and that he was to be self serving and self promoting. Today we see that this was not something God FORCED upon Saul. In fact, we see that rather than setting Saul up to fail, God had given him what was necessary to succeed.

To prepare Saul for the incredible responsibility of being king, the Lord promised to CHANGE HIM. We see in verse 6 that he was going to be changed into another man, and in verse 9 we see him get a new heart. The lord basically transformed Saul at the very core of who he was, giving him the heart he would need to face the challenges before him. Saul had everything he needed in the Lord, and the Lord was on Saul’s side… but right from the beginning Saul began to make the wrong choices.

It is the day of Saul’s inauguration, and where is Saul??? He is hiding in the gear! Why you might ask? There are two interpretations of why:

1. He was scared.
2. He was pretending to be scared so he could “make an entrance”.

The question of which of these two opinions is right is really beside the point… the outcome is still the same. Saul’s own pride was keeping him from being where he wanted to be. If he felt unprepared and was scared he didn’t trust the Lord and the Lord’s call on his life. If he was really trying to make an entrance then he was turning an event that was all about the Lord into something that was all about him. Whatever the motivation, Saul succeeded in turning the attention away from the Lord and to himself.

God has called you. God has equipped you. What are you going to do? Will you allow pride or unbelief to draw the attention of others away from the Lord onto yourself? Or will you trust Jesus and “walk worthy of your calling”?