Rid Yourself of Excess Baggage

Unload situations not predestined for you to approbate or handle. Turning the other cheek doesn’t always work out. Usually. Until you decide to place a situation in the Master’s file. Taxing down the runway, returning from a business trip, the plane exited the airfield upwardly and climbed, suddenly I began to feel closer to God. Not physically closer (although praying above the clouds at 38,000 feet does contribute to a different perspective), but spiritually closer as He began to share His wisdom with me from Matthew 5. My natural thoughts and desires to fight back and demand my rights were replaced with Jesus’ instruction to “turn the other cheek,” to “go the extra mile,” to “bless those who curse me” (Matthew 5: 38-48).

Of course, my human nature continued to argue for a while. “But, God, I’ll feel so weak if I don’t respond.  I need to fight for myself.” The reality is, my pride wanted to keep the baggage. My ego, sweltering from my impatience, wanted to hang on to the situation and try to deal with it through human, natural, flawed means. Trusting the Lord’s wisdom would mean that I no longer had control of the situation.

But God in His grace reminded me of the surrender of Christ on the cross. He drew me to the fact that, for Jesus, the path to glory was the path of surrender and letting go. The one who is the Lion of Judah is also the Lamb that was slain. And God drew me to that point of decision once again. Was I going to manage this situation to my advantage or was I going to release it, in trust and obedience, to Him?

I am thankful to say that when the plane landed, I left some baggage. Not of the Samsonite, Rockland, Pierre Cardin or Briggs and Riley variety, but a different baggage. I walked through the terminal without the heaviness of heart that comes from fighting for my own rights. I headed for my hotel free of the weight of bitterness that the enemy was trying to stir up in my soul. God had renewed my strength and the weariness was gone! Unload situations that weigh you down!