Friday Fight 32 - Packing, Repacking, or Unpacking?

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF32.

Many of us have struggles and pain from our past that are not visible to the world. Yet, we are burdened by the heaviness of what we choose to carry, and so are the people we love.

Packing, Repacking, or Unpacking?

I have traveled a lot with my daughter, Rylee, and would like to use our trips as an analogy. She lightly packed while I seemed to overpack, making my journey through airports much different than hers. My luggage was so heavy a few times that I had to place some things in her bag to avoid a hefty fee. In traveling, she could freely explore while I worried about my bag breaking or repacking to fit everything I chose to carry. Now I appreciate the freedom in packing less and not relying on her when my luggage was too heavy.

Let's look at our relationships and apply this analogy of packing, repacking, or unpacking our hurts. All of us carry baggage in our lives. Wounds, regrets, fears, and past scars are all inside our hearts, just like our overstuffed suitcases. So what happens when we carry too much emotional baggage into our relationships rather than unpacking it with God? Either we walk exhaustively with our baggage or impose our weight onto someone else because we cannot manage it alone.

How does darkness work? Darkness reminds us continually of our sins. We hold onto the weight of our past like placing things back in the suitcase. Suppression and depression are tactics intended to impose fear and shame instead of sharing our past with God and others. Carrying it destroys us and our relationships.

How do we fight? Unpacking all sins with God keeps our hearts clean and prevents regression. Try to express the pain, get help, and always pray. Our pain is replaced with joy when we leave everything at His feet. We can't save or fix people; only God can, and we experience His freedom. Unpacking our hurts with God enables healing but repacking or relying on others to carry our past hurt prevents healing.

Psalm 55:22

Pastor Shannon
New Life Calvert