7 Signs of Walking in the Holy SpiritSample

Seek repentance; don’t settle for relief.

One thing Saul didn’t have in his spiritual life was repentance. He made a bunch of excuses and blamed others, but he never repented. He apologized so that he could get Samuel to honor him, but true repentance was nonexistent.

There is no way you can remain in fellowship with the Holy Spirit without a humble, repentant heart. Sin breaks the heart of God; therefore, sin must break yours. You must have a contrite heart when you fail God.

But like Saul, I so often tend to seek relief instead of repentance. I want God to remove the pain and guilt, not change my heart, and remove sin at its root. I like saying, “I’m sorry,” instead of, “Make me your obedient servant Lord.” I want God to remove the symptoms of my sin, not sin itself. That grieves the Holy Spirit. He expects a “turnaround” on my part.

In his torment, Saul invited musicians to entertain him instead of inviting the prophet to deliver him. The demonized king sought entertainment instead of deliverance. He settled for relief, not for repentance. No wonder the Holy Spirit rejected that type of vessel.

Pain and guilt are like the blinking light on the dashboard of your car, indicating that there is a problem. It’s foolish to ask an electrician to replace the light bulb in the dashboard instead of going to a mechanic to fix the car. Repentance is fixing the issue. Saul had moments of relief but a lifetime of torment. He even prophesied at times when he didn’t know God. I urge you to never outgrow repentance.

When I read David’s Psalm 51 of repentance, I can see why God liked him so much. David didn’t make excuses or blame anyone. He took ownership of his sin, cried, pleaded, and sought after God, “the mechanic” who fixes people. Saul on the other hand made excuses, blamed others, and his primary concern wasn’t to seek God but to make sure he didn’t lose his title and position.

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