Changed

Written by Suzanne Benner

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“The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.” 1 Samuel 10:6

These were some of Samuel’s words to Saul when he anointed him as king, God’s chosen leader over Israel.

God’s promise to Saul was fulfilled, as we read just a few verses later:

“As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these sign were fulfilled that day.” (1 Samuel 10:9)

“You will be changed into a different person.”

Doesn’t that sound glorious?

How wonderful it would be to have my failings and insecurities removed and to be remade into a different person. The idea captures my imagination and stirs me with longing.

The good news is that the invitation and the promise of change have been extended to every one of us. Jesus didn’t die so that our lives could be improved or upgraded; He died so that we could be transformed – a completely different person.

Paul put it this way, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

That promise of newness is for each person who accepts Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for their sins.

Sometimes the evidence of change is instantaneous, other times it appears more gradually, but the truth remains the same – if God’s Spirit lives in us we will be changed.

Thank you Gracious God, that I am a new creation in Christ. Thank you for washing away the old and filling me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to live in the reality that I am a different person.

Questions: How has God changed you? How does the hope of change encourage you? How does believing that God has changed you affect your daily life?

About this Author: Suzanne Benner

Daily audio podcast: Hear today’s daily devotional Changed read aloud, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Tags: Christ, Devotional, God, new creation, promises, reborn, spiritual life, Suzanne Benner, Women

8 Responses to “Changed”

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anonymous says:

April 5, 2009 at 2:55 pm

amen, thank you sister kanj, and others.
kanj says:

March 23, 2009 at 7:00 am

anonymous, My life WAS blessed(unbeknownst to me), IS blessed and WILL be forever blessed in God’s grace and mercy. gratitude is the memory of a glad heart and these are the only memories I wish to keep. my heart is bursting for the want and desire to give back. you’re blessed, be re-assured, as we all are blessed. i have learned that this is why we need each other in fellowship, no matter which way we are intertwined in it. be re-assured He has restored your heart and as it states in John 14:1; ”Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in ME.”
THE ANTIDOTE TO FEAR IS FAITH(this I saw this morning in a devotional and did it ever leave an impact on me, thought I’d share it)
God bless
anonymous says:

March 22, 2009 at 3:51 pm

Sisters (and Suzanne & Kanj), thank you for sharing your testimonies. It is an example of what God can do! I am encouraged, & I pray He can do that in me too. God has been so merciful to me during hard times, and while He has done a lot, I need to continue to experience His healing love & grace (and not look at people). I pray God would restore my heart also, that I would also be rid of any bitterness. Thanks for reminding me. God bless.
kanj says:

March 18, 2009 at 4:56 pm

Suzanne, thank you.
the Lord has done a 360 degree in me, without a doubt. my old nature was a solitude one harboring bitterness, anger, resentment, which ate me up literally. if there was anyone to blame, it certainly wasn’t me therefore it was so easy to be selfish and hurt the ones who loved you. that’s all yesterday’s news, gone, done. today (for 2 years now) this change has given me continual hope, an endless river of gratitude where the giving back, helping others comes as natural as breathing. I am a re-newed child who has never felt love such as Jesus’. I belong to God, I’m not an orphan(as I used to think when both parents passed). before i am called home to the Lord, I pray that my testimony will make a difference is one life. It did mine. How does believing that God has changed me affect my daily life? I have no more fear, fear of death especially. God is with me each and every minute of every blessed day of His grace and when the day comes that I be called home, I know He will be there with his arms extended, a warm smile and with a nod saying, ”job well done Kanj”. as it states in the Bible, ”I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears”.- Psalm 34:4
anonymous says:

March 15, 2009 at 6:13 pm

Thank you for this devotional~ God has been doing a lot of ‘reconstructing’ in recent years, & it has no doubt been painful, hard, lonely at times. I used to feel I was so sure of who I was (but a combination of God changing me, but also warfare) left me for a period, wondering who I was. God has slowly been trying to reconstruct me, & so thank you for this timely devotional.. and reminding me that God is at work. I pray He continues to help us. Amen.
sharon b says:

March 15, 2009 at 9:48 am

i am way behind in reading my emails but i know that God has changed my life for the better
Patti says:

March 11, 2009 at 6:48 pm

In reading this devotion, the scripture II Corinthians 12:9 came to mind….”My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

There are days I struggle in seeing myself as a new creation, however, when I look back over the years that I have been in Him, I see how my life has changed….how I have changed. I see not only myself different than the old, but I see others in a different way…I see everything differently, my goals are different and the things that were once important, are no longer.

“Jesus loves me…this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak, but “He is Strong”

What a simple song…simple words…but what a story it tells.

Father God….

Thank You for taking the sin of the world (my ugly sin) upon You. Thank You that we can come to You, repent of our sinful ways and become a new creature in You.

Bless all who write here and those who come here…whether to minister or be ministered.

We ask Your loving grace and mercy as we live day to day. Console those who need comfort…give them peace that only comes from You. Help us to be a witness for Your glory….that we will call upon the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us…so that others will see You in our lives.

Lord….less of us and more of You, I pray.

In Jesus Name….

Amen
Coleen says:

March 11, 2009 at 5:37 am

I know that I regularly need the reassurance that I am a new creation. This is particularly important on the bad days, the days when my behavior is not so much the new but much more the old. I also realize this is a choice. I make a choice in the split second before any thought, injury, insult, challenge or difficulty is received and acted upon. I can choose to act in my old way of protecting myself and my feelings or I can choose to live in the freedom that Christ has made possible. I can choose the freedom to walk away from that old behavior. I know that God has given me every thing I need to live new. I fail, often, but I also know that because of His grace and mercy, I get to try again. Maybe next time I’ll choose to do it in His strength and not mine.