When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his heart, and all the signs came about that day.
When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him.
Then the Spirit of God came powerfully on him, and he prophesied along with them. (1 Samuel 10:9-10)
The Spirit did some pretty incredible things for Saul.
What impressed me today, though, was how Saul responded: he stifled the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)
He literally went home and hid.
I don’t know why.
Maybe his spiritual experience with the prophets scared him.
Maybe the mocking of the people around him caused him to shrink back.
But whatever the reason, he stifled the Spirit’s work in his life.
I don’t want to be like that.
I want to be like Peter and the apostles in Acts 2 when a similar thing happened to them.
As he did with Saul, the Spirit rushed over and filled them. But unlike Saul, the apostles then went out boldly living for God, doing all that he showed them to do.
Holy Spirit, do I ever stifle you in my life?
When you stir my heart, don’t let me just ignore it. Instead, give me the courage and willingness to fan that spark you lit into flame, following your leading, and doing everything you want me to do.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 