By Debbie Altman

 

Perhaps you are travelling a bit this summer and have had to load your baggage into your car, or retreive it at the “baggage claim.” This brings to mind a great story from the Bible…

“And finally….Saul was chosen from among them. But when they looked for him he had disappeared! So they asked the Lord, ‘Where is he?’And the Lord replied, ‘He is hiding among the baggage.’ So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.

Then Samuel said to all the people, ‘This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king…’ ”                              1 Samuel 10:21-24 NLT

I love the Bible! It just cracks me up sometimes! Saul was hiding among the baggage! Obviously, in the times this book of the Bible was written--almost 3000 years ago-- the author had no clue as to the connotation of the word “baggage” in our culture today. This just makes it even funnier and more powerful to me.

Saul obviously was afraid or insecure about being the first king of Israel. Who wouldn’t be! So he hid amongst the baggage. We are so guilty of doing that ourselves sometimes. We all run from God for many reasons and in many ways. I tried to hide when God began to prompt Craig and I about starting Grace Family Church. (And that hasn’t been the only time either…) We hide amongst our baggage of family problems, past failures, recent failures, inadequacies, and insecurities. We allow the enemy, Satan to whisper lies into our ears that we can never be like that other person, we can never overcome our past, we can never stand strong for God amongst our peers, we can never accomplish our dreams and goals.

Do you realize that God has chosen you for this generation? He wants you to be successful, he wants you to be a leader and influencer like King Saul was to be. As I used to say to my kids all the time, and will now declare to my grandchildren…”Why not you? You have God in you!”

God has chosen each one of you. He wants His kids to stand out in this generation in every way. The Bible is full of miraculous and unlikely success stories when God was the strength and focus of a person’s life. Do not underestimate the power of God in your life and what He wants to do with you. Come out from amongst the baggage…Do not “claim it!” Jesus believes in you and wants to claim YOU for His love and His purposes.