While living, we are caught between life and death.
We are stuck between our spiritual and sinful nature. When we accept Jesus, it’s time to walk the Christian journey, but we feel stuck. Perhaps this stuck feeling comes because we want to carry our worldly living baggage on this new journey and we cannot.
For almost fifteen years, I found myself stuck, trying to fulfill my desires in my ways—like getting drunk to escape life’s frustrations, yet trying to live righteously.
Jesus tells us to let go of our way of doing things and follow His. But we can’t do that if we hold to our baggage.
We all have baggage. It contains fleshly motivated behaviors which we think give us the satisfaction we need. When we are overwhelmed by life, we open those bags and pull out our self-made comforters. These can include alcohol, drugs, premarital sex, abusive behaviors toward self and others, burying ourselves in our work or relationships, or taking ourselves back to toxic people and places.
These things may feel good now—we might feel better—but at what cost? These self-made comforters hold us in bondage and damage us mentally and spiritually.
From personal experience, I know it is hard and even impossible to carry that baggage and try to carry God in our hearts too. We may think this baggage contains things that have gotten us through the toughest times of our lives, or we may not know how to live life without these things. But the Enemy will deceive us into thinking these things help us. They won’t.
List out the contents of your baggage and become aware of how it holds you in bondage. In faith, cross those items off and leave that baggage behind. It will take time—and you might stumble—but keep trying and striving.
Give up your way to make room for God’s way.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Lee Anne Assing is a work-in-progress Christian, determined to help others and to engage in activities that can leave a positive impact. She is an eBook author who recently wrote and self-published her first Christian-based book. She is a first-class honor graduate from the University of the West Indies, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Leadership and Management with double minors in HR and Psychology. She is also an aspiring investor in digital and physical assets.