(I wrote some comments at the end.)

GDW 3-28-03
Hiding Among The Baggage

When Samuel became too old to be an effective judge,
the leaders of Israel asked for a new kind of ruler;
"Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other
nations have" (1 Samuel 8:5). This request was
actually an indication of the sad decline of God's
people. By requesting a king, "as all the other
nations," they were rejecting God's plan and choosing
to follow the ways of the world.

God was disappointed with the heart of His children;
but He granted their request and told Samuel to anoint
Saul as Israel's first king. Saul was "an impressive
young man without equal among the Israelites - a head
taller than any of the others" (1 Samuel 9:2). Saul's
external appearance was a perfect match for the
superficial values of the nation.

When Samuel spoke with Saul, he was quite surprised to
hear he had been chosen by God: "But am I not a
Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is
not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of
Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?" (1
Samuel 9:21). Saul's insecurities were so great that
when it came time to officially anoint him as king, he
was nowhere to be found.

"So they inquired further of the Lord, 'Has the man
come here yet?' And the Lord said, 'Yes, he has hidden
himself among the baggage.'" 1 Samuel 10:22

Although Saul made many mistakes as king, we must not
forget he was specifically chosen by God and empowered
to do His will. But Saul lived with a great sense of
inadequacy and was never able to effectively lead. He
continually stepped out of God's will because his
focus was on his own limitations rather than on the
limitless ability of the One who called him to serve.

Each of us who enter into a relationship with Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior are also chosen to do His
will - empowered by His Spirit to accomplish
everything He desires for our life; "His divine power
has given us everything we need" (2 Peter 1:3).
Unfortunately, most of us enter this relationship
carrying bags from our past which weigh us down and
hinder our ability to serve.

What baggage are we still carrying or using to hide
from God's call? There may be sins and failures in our
distant (or even very recent) past which make us feel
unworthy to serve. We may still carry the pain and
mistrust of a broken relationship. We may have even
made a sincere attempt to serve but taken a few wrong
steps and fallen flat. But NOTHING must keep us from
doing His will. Nothing must keep us from following
where we know He is leading. Let's trust Him with all
our heart and answer the call today. Let's keep our
eyes on Christ and stop hiding among the baggage.

Have a Great Day!
Steve Troxel, God's Daily Word Ministries


A couple of things that this devotional made me think
about:
I was just comparing Saul to David. Saul looked like
a king. When God sent Samuel to Jesse to find the man
who would be king after Saul, Jesse showed Samuel all
7 sons, but not David. When Samuel asked if there
were any other, Jesse responded, "There is still the
youngest but he is tending the sheep." David was even
not considered by his father. And he didn't
necessarily look like a king, as Saul did.

When Jesus came, the Jews were expecting the Messiah
to be a warrior, not a humble man who wasn't robust,
or even handsome. And He was dismissed by most as
just a man, not the Chosen One who would free the
world from sin.

Have you dismissed your calling because you don't feel
you fit the part? We have so many examples in
Scripture of people who did just that: Mosses,
Jeremiah, Jonah............and the list goes on. If
God has called you to do something specific, there
really is no other road you can follow. Satan would
love to convince us that we're not enough for God's
call: well-spoken enough/ smart enough/ strong enough/
thin enough/ good enough - and his tactics often work.
But God will give us the strength, the words, the
ability to do His will IF we ask for His help.

So my prayer for you today is that You ask God for the
strength to overcome the obstacles that keep you from
being all He wants you to be and from doing all that
He requires of you. I pray for your protection as you
step out in faith, asking God to use you.

:) BK

=====
"No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his
love has been brought to full expression through us." 1 John 4:12

www.brennakate.com
www.livejournal.com/~brennakate

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