Can It Be Seen?

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 10:9, 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.

In this verse, and the ones that follow, we see something take place that can only be accomplished by God. As Saul turns away from Samuel, God gives him another heart. Here is a man who had no concern for the things of God, nor had any aspirations of becoming the first king of anything, let alone Israel. Yet, in going about doing his own thing (in this case, looking for his father’s lost donkeys), he has a life changing encounter with God, through his meeting with Samuel. It is usually in the carrying out of our everyday life tasks that God shows up and changes our lives forever, if we are willing. God will not force Himself on us, but will change our lives for His glory, if we are willing to serve Him. The people were astonished when they heard Saul, a man who was not religious, prophesying. A man with no care for the things of God was now speaking the things of God (v. 10-13). How did this change come about? Simply put, it was God. Verse 10 tells us that the Spirit of God came upon Saul, and it was then that he prophesied. Before this took place, God made a change in his heart. If we desire to have real, lasting, change in our lives, it must come from the inside out and not the other way around. Far too many people, even Christians, put more stock into what they do, than what God can do. Here is what I mean. The unsaved try to earn their salvation by way of their religion and their dedication to that religion. Yet, God clearly states that salvation comes by God’s grace alone. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Titus 3:4-7 also tells us, “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” The Christian, on the other hand, often has the same mindset as the unsaved, in that they begin trusting Jesus for eternal life, but then begin to rely more on their works than God’s grace. The Apostle Paul said this to the saints at Galatia in Galatians 3:1-3 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” Our desire to work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12) should be grounded in our faith, and a result of our salvation and faith, and not the other way around (James 2). However, the change necessary for this to happen must come from God and God alone. Saul’s heart-change came from God. Whenever I get involved in discipleship and Bible study, I always remind the person I am studying with that I am not the one that will change them. I am there to simply guide them and it is God who makes the changes from the inside out. This also applies to us personally as we study and apply the Word of God to our lives. The proof a real heart-change will show up in our words, actions, and deeds. The change that took place in Saul was clearly evident to everyone around him. Can the same thing be said about us and our testimony for Jesus? Can those who knew us, and know us, truly say that they have seen, and see, a difference in the way we live since we called upon Jesus and accepted Him as our Lord and Savior? I am not talking about people seeing us going to church every week, sometimes twice, but then living like the devil when we are outside of the church building. I am talking about people seeing a genuine change in who we are. Are we kinder, more loving towards others, forgiving, patient, honest, and willing to give to the Lord and others? Have we forsaken the places we used to go to that encouraged us to do what is evil before God? Have we turned from relationships that caused us to live a life contrary to God’s will? Are we striving each day to live holy, righteous, lives, repenting and confessing every time we stumble and sin against God and others? We may pretend that we have changed, but God knows whether we have truly surrendered to the new heart God gives us in Christ Jesus.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).