We Must Always Seek Fresh Anointing

Saul is an imperfect man, full of flaws and apparently timid. After Saul receives the infilling of the Holy Spirit in his life, when Samuel wants to present him to the people of Israel, Saul is hiding behind the baggage, behind some things stored there, because he is afraid to appear before this great multitude of people.

This tells us something: Saul could not have carried out on his own the great task God had for him. It was like taking someone out of total obscurity and suddenly putting him in the national spotlight, and it was too great a leap to make except through that Spirit of God who was within him.

It is interesting to see that, although the Holy Spirit is in our lives when we receive that infilling, we then have to learn how to use, manage, and develop that Presence within us. I would compare it, say, to learning to ride a bicycle. There is that first moment when a child, or anyone learning to ride a bicycle, can finally stay upright and keep the bicycle moving. But after that moment, the person has to begin using that ability more, developing the skills, and learning to turn right and left, steer the bicycle, pedal faster, and do more daring things.

In other words, the person has learned to stay upright but still needs to develop that ability more and more. The same thing happens when the Holy Spirit comes upon our lives: He is like a force that seeks to express itself through us, and we have to cooperate with Him by giving Him opportunities.

In this case, at his first public appearance, Saul is not yet accustomed to what to do with this power moving inside him. He feels utterly overwhelmed and intimidated by the presence of the entire nation around him, so he hides. What he must do, then, is begin to move with ease in this new way of living in the Holy Spirit, because he is a king who will have to make decisions affecting the whole nation. Above all, he will have to be a warrior, a military leader who devises strategies and inspires the people, who are intimidated by these enemy groups that are controlling and oppressing Israel. God has raised him up as a warrior to bring deliverance to His people, and that is why he needs that Power of God within him.

Interestingly, we see that after Saul’s first moment of hesitation, God begins to do something in his life. In chapter 11 of First Samuel, we see God begin, as it were, to set things in motion. And that is what happens: as God moves in a person’s life, the world around him or her begins, as it were, to conspire to bring the Power of God into manifestation. Things begin to happen around us that encourage us to move forward.

That is why we have to keep watch. When God visits us with His Power, what will happen? There will be opportunities. In this case, one of these powerful groups, the Ammonites, comes to Israel and threatens the people. Chapter 11 says that this man, Nahash the Ammonite, orders the Hebrews: “All the men of the nation must cut out their right eye.” This takes place in Gilead, a very important region of Israel: “They must gouge out their right eye, or they will be destroyed.”

Of course, this fills the men of Gilead with dismay and bitterness, and they begin to wait and see whether God will do something, whether a champion will arise, some military leader who will get them out of this predicament.

When Saul hears what has happened, that Israel is in this great predicament, look at what takes place. Chapter 11, verse 5, says: “And behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and Saul said, ‘What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?’ And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh.” And verse 6 says: “When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God came upon him again with great power.” The moment Saul receives this news, the Spirit of the Lord falls upon him and activates those gifts.

And it says: “He became exceedingly angry, and taking a pair of oxen, he cut them into pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel. And he said, ‘This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.’” In other words, the Lord lets Saul see what is happening, and the Power of God comes upon Saul. What he experiences is a holy anger, an explosion of leadership within him. He calls all the people together and threatens those who do not want to join him and Samuel. That is interesting, because the authority and the Power of God reside in Samuel as the spiritual leader.

It is interesting that civil and military power must join with spiritual power to be truly effective, and for now Saul recognizes that. God then gives him authority and changes the temperament of the timid man who, a few hours earlier, had hidden behind the baggage and did not want to appear in public. Now he is filled with authority, filled with power, and gives an order that everyone must come together to form a great army to defeat the Ammonites threatening the people of Israel.

How interesting. There we see a very specific illustration of what Samuel had promised Saul: “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you and give you power, so do whatever your hand finds to do.” For the first time, Saul has the opportunity to do something as a leader, and the Spirit of God gives him that boldness and that faith to believe. So he does what he has to do.

It also teaches us that when these situations come into our lives—when trials, difficulties, and opportunities come—we must believe and say to Him: “Spirit of God, fill me. Give me wisdom, give me authority, give me power, give me initiative, give me the ability to analyze.” We must believe that God will do it and will activate that power.

The fact that God’s Holy Spirit came upon us once does not mean that we do not have to ask for that new anointing, a fresh anointing. We must always be seeking fresh anointing. In this case, God’s fresh anointing came at that moment, and Saul was equipped to do what he had to do with great success, as we see later. May the Lord bless you, and we will continue with this fascinating study of the Spirit-filled life.