“Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them. 5 “After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harpsbeing played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 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. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.” 1 Samuel 10.3-8
I have a philosophy that success is measured not by the organization with which you are affiliated but by the strength of the individual who puts their faith in the Lord.
Saul would see some wonderful success in his ministry, especially in these seven verses. Think about it—he was chosen and anointed by Samuel, gathered by a procession of prophets coming down from the high place. Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon him, and he was “changed into a different person” and would prophesy with the prophets. He had the authority to “do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.”
Some might look at Saul and say, “See his success! What an amazing king and prophet of the Lord.” But it would be like taking one of the greatest Dallas Cowboys players, say Emmitt Smith, away from the team and believing that he rushed for thousands of yards on his own. Emmitt’s success was based on the community, a team of players who blocked for him. Without the team, Emmitt was just another talented running back.
Saul was swept up in the moment and, for a time, was filled with the Spirit and changed. The problem arose when he stepped away from “Team God” and went off on his own, disobeying the Lord and trying to find success through his own strength.
The point is—God wants to fill each of us with His Holy Spirit and assign us divine duties. But without the Spirit to fill us, without the Lord to guide us, we might seem successful, but our strength will fail, and we will become nothing without Christ, who rules and reigns within us.
Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Have you surrendered your life to Jesus? Has He captured your heart? If so, can you attribute your successes to His strength? Any work you do in this world is not because of you alone but because of Christ in you. As Colossians 1:27 says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
“O Lord God, thank You for using us to bring Your kingdom to this earth. Thank You for allowing us to be Your hands and feet and to realize the strength of Your Spirit. I pray that the change You wrought in our hearts would remain for eternity, that we would be Your people, sealed by Your Spirit and filled with Your love—so that the world might know. I love You, Lord, and praise Your name, for You are good, and Your love endures forever.” Amen.