In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, LORD,
make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8
When we rely on our own strengths things don’t pan out well. Only when we totally submit our entire lives to the Lord can we find rest. If we are carrying heavy burdens and are tired we can drop the baggage and go on revived.
Baggage is a relatively new term for burdens. My grandmother would call people she didn’t like baggages, I think it was in place of an expletive, she didn’t swear. The baggage that we now refer to is the life experiences that we have endured that have held us back, or brought us down. For many years I had an attic full of suitcases in my head, all interlinked, closed that I would take a wee peek in and then close the lids. Every now and then they would burst open and wreak havoc in my life and I would take many days packing them back away tidyily.
My attic is clear, the cobwebs are blown away, a daily visit checks that no clutter has begun to appear. In recent weeks I have discovered a small package that I have overlooked for some time. Not really taking any notice of how this baggage impacts on my life, just getting on with it. Relying on my own strength to heal this area and so it has remained unhealed, it has remained for me a wound that won’t heal. My partner gets exasperated by it, makes fun of it and tells me to get over myself.
That’s what is needed, lose the selfishness of this baggage. Lay it at the Cross and ask for help in that area. That is where I’m at.
What about you, have you considered spring cleaning your attic mind, throwing out all the clutter and rubbish, taking it to the Lord and asking for help.
It is difficult, the familiarity of the “normal” we live can make the “un-normal” scary and frightening. It gives us excuses to not do things, it gives us excuses to behave in paricular ways, it gives us reason to act up. Without the baggage we have to learn a new way of being.
The baggage controls us, it does not help us get through life, we have to, we must let it go.
The rest we feel, the peace that surrounds us and becomes part of us is what happens when we we let go. Self reliance is not going to cut it long term, we can only rely on the Lord, he is the reliable source of all things. Submit and trust in the Lord and reap the benefits.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28
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