1 Samuel 10:21 “When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.”

1 Samuel 10:22 “Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold he hath hid himself among the stuff.”

In the Bible, 1 Samuel 10 is a chapter that deals primarily with a man named Saul becoming the first king of Israel.

However, when it comes time for him to be made king, he’s nowhere to be found!

I’m sure we’ve all had times in our life when we’ve “gone missing”… Saul certainly went missing this day!

And this was despite everything the Bible says he was… a “choice young man, and a goodly” and also that “when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward”…

… and yet when it came his turn to step up and take responsibility, to stand up and lead the people…Saul went completely missing in action AWOL… and they could not find him.

… Yeah, so they were having a pretty great coronation that day, except for the fact that the guy they were coronating had done a runner!

Saul got an epic case of “cold feet” – which is a saying we use to refer to when someone suddenly loses courage or confidence.

But he’s not alone. Cold feet is something we all may experience in different spheres and at different times of our life.

I’ve had many times in my life when I was required to stand up, to be present, to take responsibility, to lead the way… and I shrunk away in fear.

And as Christians these days, many of us go routinely missing in action… we’re leaving it all up to somebody else to do it and get it done.

This truth is so multi applicable. For instance, many men these days are just like Saul was in their very own marriage, unwilling to take responsibility and lead, and leaving it for the wife to take over.

It’s instructive here that Saul was hidden “among the stuff”. How many people are hiding behind “stuff”… things, busyness and duties in life which they absorb themselves in to sidestep God’s call and commands on their life.

I don’t know what your “stuff” is. I’ve got my “stuff” and you’ve got your “stuff”… but what’s for sure is that we all spend time hiding from God and from we should really be doing among sometimes mountains of “stuff” that really doesn’t matter and has zero eternal value.

How many Christians are buried under so much stuff they’ll never do anything for the cause of Christ. If “stuff” is preventing you from serving God as a Christian, whatever it is, it’s the stuff that has to go… and souls are at stake.

Saul could not be found by human search that day (he was pretty good at hide and seek!)… and they only managed to find him by asking God where he was, that’s just how well he had hidden himself.

So if you’re a Christian, or maybe even not… maybe you’ve hidden yourself so well nobody else can see you ducking God behind that stuff… but truthfully, are you in hiding when you need to step up?

Are you hiding among “stuff” to avoid salvation and serving God? I don’t know, it’s between you and God, I can only look at my own life. But too many people have gone missing these days, you can only decide today that it won’t be you!

Blog Bible Christian Faith God Hidden Hiding Jesus Leadership Missing Responsibility Salvation Samuel Saul Stuff