Baggage

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

What baggage do you still carry around with you? I was reading and this verse stuck out to me today. Inside our baggage we have compartments, issues from our past or present that we compartmentalize inside this baggage. Issues from past relationships, or from when we were growing up. When I pack for a vacation, I am meticulous about how I pack my clothes and where I put each item into the piece of luggage because I want to maximize the space that I have.

With our baggage, we don't want to maximize the space to allow for more issues to make a home in our lives. Sometimes, people really do let these issues take root in their lives. And even though they so desperately want to let go of this baggage sometimes they grip even harder because of fear! Fear of the unknown, fear of how much better they would feel if they were free of the control of this baggage.

How many times do we have an problem in our life to we let it completely take a hold of and consume our lives? We dwell on it and think about it every chance we get, and what could have been a small problem to be solved now has evolved into this HUGE problem because we have let it take a hold of every part of our lives. I think of when I am at the airport with my luggage (with wheels) and just like when I have a lot of luggage it is the same with our spiritual baggage... the more luggage/ baggage we have the slower we move and the more immobile we become because these things completely tie us down. The thing with baggage is that it will strap you down so much that you don't even know what is right or wrong anymore because it completely covers you life and it's all you see. Baggage will skew your perspective and make you see things that are lies and make them your reality.

As a Christian, we have the awesome ability to let Christ free us from the baggage that is not allowing us to see the truth and the reality of life. Christ CAN and WILL take that baggage for us and completely get rid of it. The problem is, we have to LET IT GO! Letting go is the hardest part of it all, but if we truly desire to live a Godly life and please the Lord then we will let Christ be the focus of our lives and let Him take our burdens. Thank you God for being so gracious and loving to your servants.