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"And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee." (1 Samuel 10:6-7)If you were to look back at the very beginning of this 10th chapter, you would read that the following verses tell us the account of Samuel's anointing Saul as the first king of Israel. Much could be said concerning Saul's life and his leadership and death, because much has been written. I will not go into great detail about everything that Saul did and didn't do. It will be short and something like what Mickey Rooney might have said to his 7th wife, "Honey, I won't keep you long."First of all, we tend to overlook Saul's beginning. He was a humble man whose father depended on him to tend the flocks. He was an impressive looking fella who you'd have to look up to talk to him because he was indeed a tall drink of water.Then we hear Samuel telling Saul of all that would come to pass that day to confirm that it was the LORD Who had chosen him to be king. For example, when Saul met the prophets with their musical instruments, and prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he himself prophesied. Samuel said that at this point he would be changed into a different person. Verse nine says that God changed Saul's heart.Now folks, when our heart has been changed by the new birth from above, we have godly desires. We also begin to think and talk differently. We walk a different direction than what we used to. We are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit since He dwells within us because we have become new creatures in Christ.Some well-meaning people hope for a special leading when God is already leading them continually every day whether they know it or not. Many seek some sort of warm wishy-washy feeling and look for a sign instead of walking by faith and falling in love with the Scriptures.We also are now able to discern what is of the Spirit and what is of the flesh. If we happen get off track on that road of right living, the Holy Spirit will pull us over and check our motives. He will always show us if something, somewhere is amiss. He is our Comforter and He will not hurt us, rather, He will help us. After we have had a spiritual checkup. we proceed on each day believing and trusting that God is leading us by His Spirit.We see that Saul's beginning is much like our own, yet, with Saul, we saw a turning from the known will of God. We see the increase of pride in his own ability. Never think for a moment that you or I could be turned as well by that smooth talking lying lion who walks about seeking whom he may devour. To be sure, he cannot change the truth of God's work of redemption within us, but he will go all out in a no holds barred wrestling match in an attempt to ruin our testimony.Finally, we will see his sad end. What more can be said about his demise other than he died like he lived. Nevertheless, throughout this time, he was God's anointed. It is a warning for us to heed the checks from the Spirit and remain in obedience.Friends, a great beginning does not always insure a great end. We must stay in that wagon of His whose name is Wonderful and continue to press on in prayer, daily searching the Scriptures, while loving and leading the unlovely to Jesus Christ!