Dragging Around Your Old Luggage — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

It refers to an experience that many of us have had unfortunately. We find ourselves sometimes complaining about different past experiences, our childhood past regrets or unfair treatment that we’ve endured. This state of past thinking occurs as we form our own life stories which we share with others, but more often we share it with ourselves. We tend to carry the way we perceive our past in the same way we lug around a heavy suitcase.

It slows us down. You know what it’s like going on holidays with heavy luggage, it’s quite exhausting. So here’s the problem. Holding onto our life stories packed in our old luggage is compounded by the belief that the past holds so much weight in our daily lives. Not only do we often believe the past has the power to determine our future.

But we also assume that much of our present and future abilities are determined by this past. So if we believe that the past’s power can influence our present, what we’re doing in essence is dragging our old luggage in our journey through life.

There’s no doubt we’re all influenced by the past.

Yes, we can be influenced by it, but not controlled by it. We need to become more actively aware that we are changing. We’ve got new experiences, new perspectives. Each day can be a new experience if we’ve got the right attitude. And I’m afraid that many of us are influenced by the past issues which drag us down.

It might be your parents. They might have screwed up your upbringing. It might have been a wrong relationship. It may have been a traumatic event. Maybe you didn’t feel safe at home with parents who argued all the time, or you found it hard to make close friends, or you had friends that betrayed you. And as a result, we create coping mechanisms to feel safe from the inner pain.

But it’s not all bad news. If you have baggage, you at least know something is wrong, and that’s the first step to finding a solution. When we fly on planes, there are strict rules about how much luggage you can take. If you’re a frequent flyer, you learn to travel light.

And that’s got an application to life. Why do we carry so much baggage with us? Physical baggage, emotional baggage? We lug around past mistakes, the abuses, anger, stress, worry, fear. It’s the unnecessary weight that can come with consequences. But God doesn’t want us to carry these burdens. Do unpleasant memories keep popping up? Has someone hurt you with their words or actions? Do you feel ashamed or misunderstood? Are there unresolved conflicts or recurring fears that cause you anxiety, and is it hard for you to forgive yourself for past mistakes?

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We all must deal with the emotional and psychological baggage that we accumulate. You know what baggage is. It’s the stuff from your past that you carry around in your soul. It complicates your relationships and causes you to stumble your way through life.

God wants to take that emotional baggage (and all baggage) from you.

We all have some personal history, but it is the negative feelings and responses that we have about the past that we call emotional baggage. But we don’t have to carry around this baggage anymore. We can check our bags with Jesus. He doesn’t have fines or limits on how much our baggage weighs, or where it’s from, or what the label says.

He has seen you in the hard places. He’s heard every unkind word that might have been spoken to you, and God knows your secrets and what you’ve been through.

He knows it all and loves you unconditionally, and God is the only person who will never leave you or turn His back on you.

The Bible has a promise in Hebrews 13:5. God has said, I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. It could be time for you to unpack that luggage and leave it with God. Stop ignoring it.

In our culture, people are often coming out of broken families and lives, and their life foundation needs to be repaired and re-laid. We all need Jesus. Jesus is the source of healing for all emotional scars and inner pain, but we have to come to Him. Take it seriously and resolve to do something that’s better than doing nothing. Talk to God in prayer because He is listening right now and wants to help you with all matters relevant to your life.

Let’s Pray

Dear God, I know it’s time to let go of so many issues like the heavy baggage, Lord, that I carry around, and many of my friends are the same. It doesn’t make any sense, Lord, to carry these emotional baggage issues around day by day. It’s not helpful, and Lord, I need your grace, your help, and your strength. Amen.

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