Which is Bigger?

Then [Samuel] brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the LORD,

and the family of the Matrites was chosen.  And finally Saul son of Kish

was chosen from among them.  But when they had looked for him,

he had disappeared!  So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?”

And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.”

~1 Samuel 10:21-22 (NLT)

Saul, who stood head and shoulders above everyone else (1 Sam. 9:2, 10:23), did not exactly have an auspicious official start to his kingship.  Hiding amongst the baggage?!  And this was after God had confirmed His call on Saul’s life through the fulfillment of the signs the prophet Samuel had outlined to Saul (1 Samuel 10:2-9). 

And how often we do the same.  Granted, I can’t speak for your situation, but I can say I have a pretty hefty pile of baggage I like to hide behind.  There are things I’d like to do, things I believe I’m meant to be doing and I know I’m meant to be doing, but oh, there are so many reasons for me not to be doing them.

Motherhood?  Yes, well, that sounds great but I’m approaching 40 and am getting a little old for such things, wouldn’t you say?  The medical profession certainly does a good job of wigging me out in part . . .  O_o

Writing full-time?  Yes, well, that would be lovely but maybe I’m to keep my day job (my tent making, if you will).  Plus I’m not terribly disciplined in how I use my free time and perhaps this is just meant to be a side project or a hobby.  That is, if I’m in God’s will and/or doing it with right motives in any way, shape or form.

Teaching kids?  Yes, I’m currently doing that, but again with the discipline thing.  And there are so many things I really can’t teach them about well because I’ve messed up so much myself. 

I could paraphrase Saul’s plea (for he does sound almost bewilderedly desperate) to Saul in 1 Samuel 9:2 to fit myself quite nicely:  “But I’m only the middle child from a prairie farm family, I am small, and the least important of them all!  Why are you talking like this to me?”

Why?

I think I can almost hear God chuckle (but with mercy and grace – He’s God, after all).  Here is why:  Because God doesn’t look at us and see us merely as we currently are.  He sees us, crouching behind all our excuses, as He has called us out to be. Think about Saul’s successor – David.  He didn’t focus on the fact he was the youngest and the smallest in his family.  He kept his focus on the bigness of his God.  And what about Saul?  Why was he so focused on doing his own thing, often under the guise of ‘it’s what the people want’?  The following verse is telling:

And Samuel told [Saul],” Although you may think little of yourself,

are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel?  The LORD has

anointed you king of Israel.”

~1 Samuel 15:17 (NLT)

I’m not trying to reduce Saul’s choices to a neat and tidy pop psychology analysis.  But his view of his self certainly did not help.  And his focus, it would seem, was not on the bigness of his God, but on pleasing the people and his own inadequacies. 

So you and I have a choice.  Do we focus on our own inadequacies or on the bigness of the God who has called us?  Do we kick down the piles of baggage, the excuses we’re hiding behind and step out into the wild, bold, amazing plans God has for our lives?  Or do we stay crouched down and hidden? 

I don’t know about you, but my legs are cramping.  And I’m tired of my current view.  So c’mon – lets go for it with God.  It’s going to be wild, it’s going to be great, and it’s going to be full of Him!

Blind Spots

If I had not such a blind spot
Would I have a less difficult time
Surrendering my ways?

*~“Something Heavenly” by downhere

We often don't want to talk about our blind spots. I mean, who wants to admit to their flaws, foibles and simply put, our annoying behaviour? It's hard, to say the least. And the biggest part of the problem, too, lies in the fact it's a 'blind' spot. As in we're not seeing it. It seems easier to just not worry about it. I mean, no one's perfect, right?

The flip side of the coin (for me, anyway – yours may be different) is we can spend too much time looking for those blind spots, for things that could be wrong and therefore need to be fixed in us or by us or because of us. We can lose sight of God's goodness and grace, of the works He has done and is doing in us. This can open the door for condemnation, guilt, and an overall sour view of ourselves and the world. In short, it can hinder God's work in us.

The following verse has been brought to my mind today as I've been looking for what I'm, well, not seeing in myself:

What we read in Scripture is, “Abraham entered into what God was doing for him,
and that was the turning point. He trusted Got to set him right
instead of trying to be right on his own.”

*~ Romans 4:3 (The Message)

God knows where my blind spots are, what needs to be worked out of me and what needs to be worked into me. And He won't overwhelm me with changes. The prophet Isaiah wrote:

Whom will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
. . . For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.
*~ Isaiah 28: 9a, 10 (NKJ)

And we're also instructed by the apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8 to meditate upon good things, praiseworthy things. To get bogged down in all the things we see wrong does not help us remember God's goodness and grace, nor (as I'm sure many have experienced) does it help us to make positive changes in our lives.

God doesn't ask for us to be perfect. He asks us to trust Him and to obey Him, to go where He leads us and to share the awesomeness of His salvation through Jesus' death and resurrection with the world. Yes, we're going to stumble. We'll probably falter a time or two as well. But if we can keep moving forward by the power of God's grace and the world sees that . . . well, we'll all have a few less blind spots.

Insert Insult of Choice [Here]

"Oh, but human beings
We all need to quit being inhumane."
-- Relient K's I Just Want You to Know

Yargh!!

Sometimes as people we do some pretty crappy (Sorry -- no good words due to a lack of Pathwords playing! heehee) things to each other. Like taking credit for things we didn't do. Excluding people to make ourselves feel 'bigger' or 'better'. Name calling. Insults.

Murder.

Gossiping.

Lying.

Oh, it's quite a long litany if one takes any sort of a look at the sad state of the human race! Even when it's not an election year! (I may be the only one who finds that funny.)

Thankfully, though, we don't have to rely on ourselves to see, listen to, and speak about the good things around us. We all have the choice as to whether or not we'll accept the amazingly free gift God has given to us through Jesus Christ -- eternal life spent with Him when we confess Jesus is our resurrected Saviour and Lord. And when we become Christians, Christ-followers, we are then given the gift of the Holy Spirit. He then enables us to live the Christian life. He is our Helper who speaks to us the things He hears from the Father. And that is pretty great when one thinks about it. God, giving us life and giving us all we need to live it for Him.

Will we lay hold of His provision? Or insist on muddling through it on our own?

Just a few things to ponder, along with why I watch what I do on TV.

But it's time to shut the thinker down and get some sleep. I don't need my furry alarm clock to poke me awake tomorrow morning. ^..^