Opinions, opinions...

Today, as I was reading in 1 Samuel, I stopped in chapter 14, verse 7 as I read this:

"'Do all that you have in mind,' his armor-bearer said, 'Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.'"

The armor-bearer is responding to Jonathan, King Saul's son, after he said something to the effect of, "Come on, God's with us!  Let's you an I go get those bastards [read "Philistines"]!" (Paraphrased, in case you were wondering.)  I noticed that Jonathan didn't exactly ask his armor-bearer for a reply.  Also, the armor-bearer didn't have a lukewarm attitude about the proposal; his answer is one filled with passion and loyalty.

Now, I have some pretty strong opinions (shocking, I know) and I tend to see things as very "black and white."  "My way or the highway" used to be one of my favorite sayings and it took me a long time to realize I could like and even be friends with people who don't agree with every single thing I think.

Not only do I have strong opinions, but I share them freely (who wouldn't want to know what I'm thinking!). One of the things I hear God challenging me to do here is to wait for that opinion to be asked in some cases. No, not everyone wants to hear all of my opinions all the time (another shocker!).  I hear Him asking me to be willing to be sensitive to his Spirit and ask for discernment concerning what He wants me to share, who He wants me to share it with and when to do it.

Sometimes, He's gonna tell me to speak what's on my heart, other times, He's going to ask me to keep my mouth shut for the moment; not all my ideas/views/opinions are the right way to do things because they're just that - mine, not His; opinions, not truths (there, I said it!)  Sometimes, I'm going to need to just nod and say, "I know my role is to support you in this, so let's go for it! Animo!!! I'm with you all the way, no matter what!," despite my opinion.

Obviously, there will be many times in my life where I share my strong opinions because that's part of who I am, but God is calling me to be sensitive to the voice of His Spirit and to learn to discern when to speak my mind and when I need to listen and obey.

The Baggage

I was reading in first Samuel chapter 10 today; it's about when Saul is first becoming king of Israel and verses 20-22 go like this:

"When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.  Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen.  Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen.  But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.  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.'"

Samuel had met with Saul before hand and told him of all these signs to prove he really had been chosen as king.  All the signs came true.  Yet when it came time to present the people with their future king, he was nowhere to be found!  In fact, he was hiding.

Now, maybe he was hiding so he could process recent events, maybe he was an introvert and needed some alone time or maybe he was just plain scared...who knows?!  One thing is for certain, he felt more comfortable with his baggage (and likely a few stinky camels) than with the calling God placed on his life.

I totally get that!  When I'm tired, stressed, scared or unsure, I put on those old insecurities all over again; even though God has taken all my insecurities, shame, guilt and fear.  Hiding is easy; the challenge then, is to stop hanging out with the camels and start living up to what/who God has called me to be!