Are you Hiding in the Baggage?

by Ruby Cline Lee

There once was a man who was the fairest in all the land. One day, his herd of
donkeys went missing and his father tasked him with search and rescue. The
faithful son looked for days to no avail, but just before he headed home his servant
said: “Hey, let’s go ask this VIP where our donkeys are.” The handsome man took
his advice and a weird thing happened next.

The VIP invited the travelers to dinner, putting the attractive man at the head of the
table and giving him the best piece of meat (the leg, of course). Perplexed, the man
asked: “Why are you blessing me? I’m the least of all my people.”

The next day, the VIP anointed the beautiful man with oil and said “Guess what? You’re going to be our new ruler. Oh, and by the way, I know where your donkeys are.” Cut to the next scene and the VIP has gathered the people to announce the name of the new king. But no one could find him. Where was he?

Hiding in the baggage, of course.

By now you’ve probably guessed the man of the hour as King Saul. The mention of his name typically conjures images of a murder-crazed man oppressed by evil spirits. Sometimes we forget Saul started out as a humble person who tried to do the right thing. After all, he’s looking for donkeys because his father asked him to. He listened to the advice of his servant. He’s surprised to be put at the head of the table. He hides among the duffle bags—perhaps to avoid the limelight or from fear of failure. Whatever the reason, Saul was a normal, likable guy.

What changed? Two things: his position and his posture. He was raised up from a
humble stature, but he didn’t stay humble. In fact, he became quite the antihero of
Israel, with his pride, disobedience, jealousy, and lust for murder.

James 1:9-10 states: “But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his
high position and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering
grass, he will pass away.”

Saul’s beauty was fleeting. His riches were fleeting. His power was fleeting. Even
his sanity was fleeting. He did not persevere under trials and that makes Saul a
perfect example of what not to do. Saul was faithful with little, but when he was
given much, he fell flat on his face. The question is—why?

Romans 12:3 encourages us not to overestimate our abilities (so we don’t end up
like Saul). Thankfully, God is there to help us do just that. For example, He
revealed the pride hiding in my heart when he called me to be a writer. I didn’t
want to let go of the status of my career and become a “nobody” in the writing
world. But I did, and God has been humbling me as I’ve struggled for years to find
my footing in this new adventure.

I know God called me to be a writer, but sometimes I want to throw in the towel,
cry in my soup and give up the ghost on this journey. Sometimes I feel like all I’m
doing is running around in circles looking for proverbial donkeys or hiding in the
baggage—overwhelmed by the fear of failure. This is where trusting God comes
into clutch.

It’s okay to have dreams, but let’s remember to be thankful for where we are in the
writing journey. If God chooses to give us success, let’s thank Him. If he chooses
to keep our writing on “hold,” let’s thank Him. As writers, we need to ask God to
help us find the balance of being content with writing an unpublished blog or being
queen of the New York Times bestseller list. Let’s be wary of the sin of pride and
remember what happened to Saul when God lifted him up.

Lord, please help us to be faithful in our calling as writers. Help us to be like Saul
when he was a simple man. Let us remain humble if you choose to lift us to a
prominent position. And please help our posture to be that of a humble servant who
is willing to listen when You speak—no matter where we are on our journey. Amen.

Since Ruby Cline Lee was a little girl, she has been obsessed with books, which led to her love of reading and writing. She has a M.Ed. In Teaching English from Liberty University and has taught composition and literature classes at LU as well as Central Virginia Community College. Visit Ruby on her website, X (Twitter) or Instagram @RubyClineLee or Facebook.