Put Down Your Baggage And Let God Take The Weight

Baggage. What a familiar term. Somehow we have all gone through the process involving baggage. Whether it’s going back to the familiar scent of grandma’s kitchen or finally leaving the nest to discover the world and oneself, we have dealt with this weight of trying to find our place in the world while carrying burdens on our shoulders.

Sorting out your baggage is often a walk in the park. With a team of gunmen firing shots at you. Okay, perhaps I exaggerated but I am certain most of you detest packing.

You usually start off with a basic check list which ends up looking like a company’s annual report at the end of the day. All the planning and preparation for worst-case-scenario manifest itself in the form of a bulging 65 Litre rucksack, ready to explode anytime. Satisfied and amazed at the same time, you wonder if you really need that extra bulky scarf or that much wet wipes. But hey, what if there is a sudden drop in the temperature despite it being summer? What if there are no clean toilets? What if your valuables get stolen and you have to sleep in a shelter? Better be safe than sorry. At least, in the event of ‘disaster’, you are well-prepared. Sounds familiar? Then, the scorching sun decided to sit in the sky throughout your trip, the toilets were proper and sparkling, and no, you did not fall into the country’s crime victim statistics. Your shoulders ache from lugging a 20kg rucksack everywhere you go. 20kg when only half of the weight is truly necessary.

Doesn’t this ring true for our lives as well?

A most appropriate analogy to how most of us go through life. Deep down, we know what we need. We had it all listed down before allowing anxiety, fear and overthinking to take control of things we cannot control.

So, we pack and prepare for the worst.

We forget who is truly in charge. Despite our mouth confessing love and trust to a God who is Love and Mercy Himself, our hearts fail to be convinced.

As if our conundrums were too small for Him to care or too big for Him to handle. Either ways, we doubt and we fear. We distrust our Lover. Along the way, we stumble upon a stone in life and realise how unnecessary half of our baggage is. Yet we so willingly suffer and carry the weight all the way. Sometimes, it seems so difficult to believe that life can be so much easier if we let go and let God. To trust that there is one who desires only the best for us and would sacrifice everything to see us through. To accept the fact that there exists a Lover who loved us, still loves us and will always love us unconditionally.

It’s time to let go of the unnecessary baggage, physical or emotional. Let God. Let Him provide. Let Him handle. Let Him love you. “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11