Hiding in the Baggage

by Scott Vance on January 20, 2022

1 Samuel 9-10:27 (click here to read the scripture)
 
When I was doing youth ministry, we were playing a game with a giant six-foot ball (often called an earth ball).
The game was simple enough.  The students and leaders were divided into four equal teams with each person given a number.  I would call out a number and then kids would rush out and try and push the ball back onto their side.  However, one student thought it would be fun just to run straight at the ball and hit it as hard as he could to knock down other players.  What he didn’t realize is that one of my leaders was standing on the other side of the ball and I thought to myself, “This isn’t going to end well.”  And it didn’t as the student was injured by the collision.
 
“This isn’t going to end well.”  That’s what I was thinking as I read this passage.  Sorry for the longer reading but remember sometimes it’s important to read larger chunks in narratives so that we get the big picture.  The telling of this story is important because we see how the Lord is at work.  In this passage, we see God at work in many ways: bringing Samuel and Saul together in a miraculous way; bringing dozens of other people into Saul’s life to confirm the calling, (I love the details of verses 10:2-7); and the changes, through the Spirit, in Saul’s heart to get him ready to lead the people for the purposes of the Lord.
 
It’s an awesome account, but at the end of this narrative you suddenly find yourself thinking, “this isn’t going to end well.”  There are three moments when we get an indicator that all is not well.  The biggest is in verses 10:17-20 when Samuel again points out that the people have rejected God as king.  The second comes when the people must look for Saul as he is hiding in the baggage (10:22).  Wow!  And the third, at the end of chapter 10 when we’re told that some people despise Saul.
 
The thing that surprises me is that Saul suddenly gets cold feet.  He had all these signs and wonders happen to him, he was filled with the Spirit, and yet, when called upon, he hides.  You can almost sense the failure that is coming.
 
The question that kept running through my mind is, “Why hide?  Why the failure to step up when called?”  After all, Saul experienced some awesome spiritual moments when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and changed his heart.  So why would he suddenly feel the need to hide in the baggage and then be dragged out before the people?
 
There will be times when we have great spiritual moments in our walk with the Lord, but those are mountaintop moments.  The rest of the time is a daily work to draw close to Jesus. Emotionally we will have spiritual highs and lows.  Intellectually there will be times of spiritual growth and maturity.  These things will rise and fall in our lives.  The key, however, is the will to pursue or work out your salvation, as Paul encourages believers to do (Philippians 2.12-13).  It’s in those daily times in the presence of Jesus where our trust in Him is nurtured and matured.  That growth then enables us to be who He calls us to be, and answer when He does call us to action.
 
My encouragement to you today is to intentionally set aside daily time alone with Jesus.  Pursue and keep those times.  Don’t get concerned with how spiritual your time of solitude is or how much you’re learning in the process.  Simply decide to be present in His presence.  Like Mary in Luke 10:38-42, simply sit at the feet of Jesus each day.  In doing so, your relationship and trust will grow so that you won’t be found in the baggage.
 
God bless you and have a wonderful day.  Know that you are lifted up in prayer.
Scott
 
 

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