I Samuel 10:9
“Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day.”
God was doing something special for Saul. He had a good home with caring parents, so he was probably a good guy. However, to do His will we need more than that. We need a new heart.
This is part of the good news of christianity. When we accept Christ, He gives us a new heart. Jesus called it being born again. Our personality is the same, but we want different things. At conversion, it won’t take long to grow bored with worldly things; partying, gossip, opportunism all become empty.
Jeremiah 24:7 says, “I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.” He gives us a new heart. We want to do good things and follow His ways. When many think of a religious life, they imagine abstinence from fun, they see people devoid of joy and a life full of drudgery. Some of this is true, as not all religious people got it right. Hollywood and academia portray religious people very poorly. They have their own agenda. A life in Christ has none of those traits.
The new heart is one that desires God. The Jeremiah passage says we will be His people and He will be our God. He adopted us. Jesus says that God is our Father. Imagine the best father possible and we aren’t even close to how wonderful He is. The Prodigal Son’s father is a glimpse. He didn’t interfere with the wandering son’s choices. Also, he would often look out on the road for his son’s return. When he did come back, there was no shaming, but a party. The Lord gives us room. He also gives us happiness, health, this beautiful world and so on. He eagerly awaits our return and showers us with blessings when we come home.
If we fall into sinful, bad habits our new heart can’t abide it. We don’t like it, but in addition to that, the Holy Spirit within is grieved. Ephesians 4:30 says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” This verse is sandwiched between using vulgar speech and having bitterness and anger within. This behavior makes the Spirit sad. We sense this, as He lives in us. We feel badly because of our new heart and also how it grieves the Lord. It’s a similar feeling to disappointing those we care about. The end result is that we try to avoid doing those things.
Lord, thank You for this new heart. Thank You that it wants You and good things. Help us not to grieve You, but to seek You more.