The last two years have probably been the most difficult in my whole entire life. I have battled between ministry and my own personal life. Many of you out there have had your own share of problems and battles. The English have a saying "when it rains, it pours". How true this is! I thought I was all set in the Lord, had all I needed then suddenly my whole life crumbled. I struggled to do what God required of me...ministry. Some of this pain I brought upon myself due to the bad choices and decisions that I had made. I was in so much pain, so stressed and depressed as many of my close friends would attest to this fact. And then God, in His infinite wisdom (of course), bless His Holy name found it suitable that in the midst of what I faced, sent people my way and required that I help them. Some of these people were going through similar trials as me and others even worse. But between that time and now, I'm glad to say that our faithful and just God, whose mercies are new each day made a way for me...gave me peace to begin with. A certain situation keeps showing up at my door step but I'm now a much stronger person and better situated in God. I'm now more than able to help and encourage others better. With God's help, I determined that this baggage of what I was facing and going through would not hinder me from being fruitful for God. I didn't allow it to weigh me down as I had the confidence (and still do of course) that God would help me. Fasting and prayer and getting closer to God was the key. With time, I have come to realize that I'm not carrying this load, God has taken it from me. We need to let go of the excess baggage from the past or whatever it is we are carrying around so that we can receive from God. God is in the business of taking the loads off of us...ONLY if we give them to Him.
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.
1 Samuel 10:22
"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.'"
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 remained 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.
Question therefore is: 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. Lets surender this baggage so He can better use us for His glory. Nothing is impossible with God!
THIS IS OUR GOD!!
Have a blessed day!!
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