ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 SAPATE MA’ASI 29, 2026

1 SAMIUELA 9-12; MATIU 28:18-20

God goes with the one he sends, and the one he calls he faithfully empowers.

‘Oku fononga ‘a e ‘Otua mo e tokotaha ‘oku Ne fekau’i pea tokotaha ‘oku Ne ui, ‘oku Ne fakaivia.

The fool loves independence. Like a young child who wants to tie his shoe but does not know how and who slaps away his mother's hand when she reaches to help him, so is the foolish and spiritually immature person. By grace, the more you walk with the Lord, the more you come to know him and get to know yourself, the more you consider his high calling on your life, and the more you are struck by your own weakness and inability. Nothing God calls us to is possible in our own strength. Whether character or command, we have no ability whatsoever to independently live up to God's wise and holy standards. This is why you see this statement repeated throughout the biblical narrative: "I will be with you." We look to God not only for direction but also for empowerment.

So when Saul is being appointed and anointed as king of Israel, it makes sense that this would be recorded: "Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you" (1 Sam. 10:6-7). That the "Spirit of the LORD will rush upon" Saul means that God will fill him with the power he needs in order to do what God has appointed him to do. God's power is so significant that Saul will be "turned into another man." This does not mean that his physical appearance or personality will change; rather, God will so thoroughly equip him for the task to which he

has been called that he will be like a new man. This empowerment is not for Saul but through Saul, for the good of God's people and for the glory of the Lord.

As we read separate parts of the grand biblical story, we must remember that the central character of every chapter of the biblical story is the Lord. The biblical story is his story. He is on center stage, and the spotlight is always on him. The human characters are the means by which God reveals who he is, how he works, and what his plan is. In the story of Saul's anointing, we see God's zeal for his plan and for his people and, through them, his plan for all the nations on earth. When God calls us, he empowers us - not just because he is loving and kind and knows we are weak, but because we are the instruments through which he will accomplish his plan that he set in place before the world was created. He is the one who raises up kings, and he is the one who brings them down.

Saul was part of something infinitely bigger than himself, bigger even than Israel. Out of Israel would come another king, a Lamb King, who would shed his blood for the forgiveness of sins and secure the promises that someday everything damaged by sin would be made new again.