Recovery Devotional 303 Another Man

JMD Devotional 303 1 Samuel 10:6 Another Man

Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you will show yourself to be a prophet with them; and you will be turned into another man.

I remember one afternoon as a young teenager when I was dropped off at church to attend a weekly youth group. I was in a particularly sullen and moody and belligerent way; consumed with my own problems. The first five people I met I rubbed the wrong way with just a few self-absorbed words. Each one turned elsewhere to find more pleasant conversation. Sensing the isolation, and seeing the youth gather in warm fellowship with me on the outside, I panicked. I shouted, “Wait!”, and I ran back to where I was dropped off in the parking lot, and back to the edge of the group, wearing a totally different countenance. Positive, smiling, and asking how each person was, I created quite a stir. Asked, “What was that all about?” I answered, “I had to leave that other person behind.”

There is a throne in each of our hearts reserved for God. When self usurps that throne, we are a miserable tyrant to ourselves and others. We do not have the power, wisdom or character in isolation from God to bless, encourage or help others, much less ourselves. We need God’s Spirit to transform us, to empower us to abandon the self-made man. Humility restores power, order and perspective to our personal ‘kingdom’.

Dear God,

How often I need to be another man. I fall back into old patterns of behavior, negative perspectives, selfish delusions. You are the lovely part of me; the source of virtue and the well spring of love. Animate me in Christ. Make me into another man.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

I originally produced these blogs between 2006 and 2007, which were then published in my book, JMD Recovery Devotionals. In 2010, I am sending these out to a few people as I review them and see if my point of view has changed.

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