What's Your Baggage?

Hi there!

It’s been a while since I’ve spoken with you in this forum. This past month has been busy for me for many reasons. Spiritually, God has been working to humble me, in a good way.

In my personal readings, I’ve been reading through 1Samuel. There is so much to be learned about leadership when we look at the life and stories of Saul and David. As much as I would like to think of myself as a David type believer, there are a lot of things that I see in my walk that remind me of Saul.

It’s not possible to express it all in a blog post, but I do want to share one aspect in particular that God has been working on in me.

Saul had already been anointed King of Israel by Samuel the prophet and the ordeal was a rather private affair. When it came time for Saul to be publicly brought forth as King, he was nowhere to be found. After wondering where Saul was, the Lord Himself revealed that, “He was hiding among the baggage.” 1Samuel 10:22

I don’t do everything wrong. I don’t think there are many, if any, people in my life who don’t know that I’m a follower of Christ. I couldn’t be much more public about what I do. As public and as open as I am about my faith, there are still ways that I hide.

When God calls us into leadership, He expects us to actually lead. I’m not going to paint a picture of what kind of roles leadership should take on. What I will say, is that there is a time to step forward and do what it is you have been anointed to do. I’ve been living out a Saul type faith, in the sense that I only step forward after being sought out.

As I live out my calling, my strategy thus far has been to simply go where I am asked to go. It keeps me pretty busy. There is also an odd kind of security that one gets, having the feeling that, “If I’m asked, it must be God.”

Coming forward without being sought out feels risky. How do I know it’s what God wants for me? Maybe it’s just me, trying to accomplish my personal version of the evangelical dream.

I’m becoming increasingly convinced that I need to ‘do something’ without being asked to do it. It’s an uncomfortable place for me to be. How do I know it’s God? Will I have enough help to accomplish the vision I have in mind? What if I fail? What if people don’t like or want it?

Stepping out doesn’t carry with it the security of having been asked. If you have been asked to do something, you know that someone wants you doing it. If you step out and do something that people have not asked you to do, you have little guarantee that anyone will want you doing what you are doing. You might even face strong opposition.

The church itself tends to be a rather precarious place to live out your faith. There are usually at least a few people there who really don’t want you to play your role in making disciples. As long as you stay quiet and help pay off the mortgage, you’ll probably get along fine. Stepping out and actually doing something might make life a little more complicated.

I don’t believe that God has anything crazy planned for me, and I don’t fear losing any friends over what I might do. As the days and weeks unfold, I hope to share with you some specifics of what I have in mind. For now, here I am. I was hiding in the baggage for a while. Here’s hoping I don’t become the tyrant that Saul was as well.

How about you? If you’ve chosen to take your stand with Jesus, who even knows? Are there ways that you remain in hiding? Maybe you have your own baggage of sorts and just can’t seem to crawl out from under it.

I’ll be glad to listen.