Rhapsody of Realities 23 February 2025: Stay in the Word

Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:10-11 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments…

Anyone can be suddenly transformed by the Spirit of God, and we’ve seen this happen many times, even in Bible days. But you have to stay rooted in the Word, established and founded in faith, as that’s the only way to sustain such transformation.

In 1 Samuel 10, for example, we read the account of Saul, the son of Kish, who was gloriously transformed by the Spirit of God and began to prophesy. The Bible says Saul was turned into another man. Read the words of the Prophet Samuel to him in 1 Samuel 10:6, “And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.”

When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart, and he began to prophesy among the prophets. This marked the beginning of Saul’s reign as king of Israel. Can you imagine a man receiving another heart instantly by the power of the Holy Spirit? However in 1 Samuel 15, just five chapters later, God spoke to Samuel and said, “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night” (1 Samuel 15:11).

In 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, we learn that Saul died for his transgressions, particularly for not keeping the word of the Lord and for consulting a familiar spirit instead of seeking God. Even though Saul had such a great, miraculous transformation in his life, he didn’t sustain it because he didn’t keep the Word of the Lord.

Read Yesterday’s Rhapsody of Realities Here

So, be wise; sustain the work, the transformations that the Holy Spirit brings to your life, by staying focused on the Word. Be a doer of the Word. James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Whatever God does in your life is meant to stay and grow into greater glories, but that will only happen if you stay in the Word of God.

PRAYER: Dear Father, I thank you for the transformative power of your Word and the Spirit in my life. I commit to following you in, through, and by the Word. I stay rooted in your Word, established and founded in faith, steadfast, resolute, unshakeable, and unmoveable, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY

James 1:22-25

²²But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].

²³For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror;

²⁴For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like.

²⁵But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience).

Colossians 3:16

¹⁶Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.