"Practically Divine"

While reading “Three Moves” and Becca’s description of what the phrase, “three moves is as good as a fire,” I had so many thoughts of my own life and the baggage I have, at times, chosen to carry around. This quote describes the feeling of letting unnecessary weights go,

“I have learned, in the best practically divine way, that freedom lies in the metaphorical burning of something so we can’t keep it with us. We don’t have to make it right for everyone. Burn the things you have been lugging around. I can burn my need for closure. I can burn my ephemeral longing to rewrite that broken chapter. I can burn my guilt that I wasn’t a good pastor to the grandson. Offer it all as a sacrifice laid on the altar of my youth. Maybe watch the flames and dance at my unbridled heart, free of carrying it all around. Then walk on the holy ashes and rubble left behind, remembering the sacred in the remains. Rubble offers a place to begin to rebuild from ashes.” (page 144)

That sounds amazing! I want to live in that kind of unbridled freedom and joy. These thoughts made me remember a passage of scripture in 1 Samuel about Saul before he was King Saul.

Therefore they inquired further of the LORD, ‘Has the man come here yet?’ So the LORD said, ‘Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage. (NASB, 1 Samuel 10:22)

Samuel went back to GOD, ‘Is he anywhere around?’ GOD said, ‘Yes, he’s right over there – hidden in that pile of baggage.’(MSG, 2 Samuel 10:22)

Let me explain a little bit. In the beginning of 1 Samuel 10, the prophet Samuel anointed Saul as King. God had chosen him, but Samuel physically anointed. In this ceremony, he explained to Saul in detail what would happen over the next 7 days. He also told him that he’d prophesy along with the prophets. Samuel told Saul that God would make him a “new person.” It all happened just as Samuel had said.

In verse 10, it is written that when the crowds saw Saul’s new person, they were very surprised which lets us know a little bit of Saul’s former character. It seems Saul had some things in his past that could have/should have disqualified him from being anointed by God to lead and prophecy.

That doesn’t matter, because Saul WAS anointed. He WAS chosen by God, and he DID prophesy with the prophets. God had made him a new person, and yet, when Samuel came looking for Saul to introduce him to the people as their first king, Saul was hiding in the baggage. Now, I know and understand that Saul was hiding in actual, literal baggage. However, I always think it’s a great picture of what we are all tempted to do with our present lives…. Hide away in the baggage of our past lives.

Through Jesus Christ, God has made us new people, and He has given us assignments. He’s anointed us to do His work. I don’t think many Jesus followers have trouble with the idea of that last statement. We know we were saved by God for a new life that will be fulfilled in eternity. I do think many Jesus followers forget that God will make us new people every, single day right here in our earthly bodies.

You don’t have to be the same person you were yesterday. I don’t have to be the same person I was last week. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will anoint and transform me every day. But, I can’t hide in the baggage of yesterday’s, last week, or last year.

I think we get overwhelmed when we think we’ve got to burn the baggage down. We expect that God will magically remove the pain, hurt, and failures of our past. We want the miracle of a giant fire that catapults us into new life and ministry. Sometimes, though, the miracle is in one move, two moves, and a third move.

1. Get up out of the baggage.

2. Take a step towards what God has called you to do.

3. Repeat steps one and two as many times as necessary from now until eternity.

Listen, I know that seems awfully simplistic. I have my own baggage and somedays it feels paralyzing. That’s where we need our communities. We need one or two people that will call us out when we’re hiding among the baggage and remind us who we are in Christ.

Personally, I’m sick and tired of watching my Enemy have victories over my life and the lives of those I love, because his is so good at reminding us of failure and pain. Today, can our collective one move just be to tell that liar to “SHUT UP!”

God is bigger than any one thing that seems to be in your path to freedom! Let’s believe that and allow Him to set us on our path out of the rubble. This could be the most practically divine step of all the steps.

God, you know my heart, and THIS is what I want to see in the lives of every person I know and love. I want Your people (myself included) to see You as bigger that our mistakes/failures, the pain inflicted on us, the grief we carry, and the fear we have in this world. You have overcome all of it, and You’ve already overcome the accuser of the brethren which is Satan. In the end, You win. Since we know that, give us the strength and courage to win a million little victories every day. Call us out of the baggage and do it today! Amen.