Unpacking Baggage

I was thinking about baggage today and wondering why we allow ourselves to drag it around. Baggage seems to follow us and put a damper on the enjoyment that we should feel on this journey. We pick up baggage through shame, fear, and insecurities. The Bible tells us to cast our cares on our Father for He will not let His children fall. But for some reason we have a hard time unpacking our bags, we seem to want to hold on to it.

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22)

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

To unpack all our baggage we must pray. We have to look at prayer as a gift for both us and God. The prayer itself or how it’s said doesn’t matter the only thing that matters is Who is listening to you. If all we have to do is pray to relieve us of our baggage why don’t we do it? The common excuses are being too busy, too tired, or too distracted.  

God offers such a lighter load for us to carry around. To pray effectively we must increase our strength for prayer. Christ modeled for us how we should live our lives through its joys and challenges. When Jesus was asked how to pray he gave us Matthew 6:9-3:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:9-13)

In Christ’s prayer, we start the day by asking for bread. We acknowledge that whether in good or bad everything comes from God. We ask strength and courage for what we will face that day. Then we ask for forgiveness and protection from evil.

Our enemy would love to keep us distracted and to see us fall. He tries to make us focus on things (family, work, friends, and school) that might rob us of the joy of God. We must never forget what really matters: our relationship with our Father. It’s up to us to come to our Father for He already loves us, we need to take prayer off the to-do list and put it on the to-live list.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)