Baggage

Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ~ Matthew 11:28

"The woman flops down on the bench and drops her trash bag between her feet...Everything aches. Back. Legs. Neck. Her shoulder is stiff and her hands are raw. All because of the sack. Oh to be rid of this garbage," (3). In his book, Give it all to Him, Max Lucado describes our burdens, our cares, our worries as bags of trash that we haul everywhere on our back. And, until we've learned to turn it all over to Jesus, we will continue to carry it, even though it kills us.

Far too often we carry unnecessary loads, but the Bible tells us, "God...will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear," (1 Corinthians 10:13). So if we're talking about burdens, where does temptation come in? When a situation arises we have to make a choice: will we try to take it on and fix the situation ourselves--temptation of the sin of pride--or will we trust God and turn the situation over to Him? When we choose to take it on and carry it ourselves, we take on unnecessary burdens and carry very heavy loads. But God sent His Son to free us from that! In his book, Max Lucado says that Jesus is the trash man. He wants us to give Him all of our garbage bags; the ones we've been carrying all our lives and the ones we only recently picked up. It's not necessary for us to carry them and it's not at all what God wants for our lives.

What trash have you been carrying? What burdens? What lies? Maybe you've been carrying the burden of having to be strong for the whole family, but it's not your job--you're not supposed to support them; you're not supposed to fulfill them. Maybe you've been carrying the burden of making ends meet, when the money simply isn't there. Maybe you've been carrying the shame and guilt of an abortion, or worse, of abuse. You don't have to let those things drag you down anymore. Jesus wants to set you free. He came that you could be entirely, completely free! Give the Trash man your trash bags. He wants to carry them and carry you! And don't worry, He's got broad enough shoulders to handle it--all of it. Will you give it to Him?

Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. ~ Psalm 81:6