Skip to main content

“Many of us know we’re lugging around too much baggage from the past.”

A thought by James MacDonald (2010-05-03) from his book, 10 Choices: A Proven Plan to Change Your Life Forever (Kindle Location 2059). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

James goes on, “But we also have a sneaky suspicion that we’re stuck with it.”  It is so easy to feel that way isn’t it?  Maybe that is how you feel.

James then says, “Has anyone ever told you that God didn’t make you with the capacity to carry forward the residue of all the negatives from your past? He doesn’t expect you to store it or ignore it. We call it emotional baggage, but parts of our past are really more like toxic trash or radioactive waste. It’s unstable and explosive. We can’t throw it in a mental hall closet, lock the door, and hope for the best. If we try, the pressure will build until the closet explodes, throwing serious shrapnel on everyone around us.”

And so many people live that way.  Maybe you do.  What kind of emotional baggage are you carrying around with you?

He goes on, “Forgiveness is what God gives to free us and others from the weight of relational failure. Forgiveness disposes of the glowing green sludge of hurts, betrayals, and disappointments. Forgiveness is God’s solution to capacity issues. The older we get, the more we realize we’ve got to become skilled at forgiveness. If we want the kind of life that God promises us, we must find a good way to deal with the wounds that happen to us and the weights that life heaps on us. We need to become the experts at forgiveness in our families, the experts at forgiveness in our churches and on our jobs, and the experts at forgiveness in our neighborhoods with this all-important biblical, necessary, required skill— forgiveness.”

There it is, the solution.  It is called forgiveness.  Not an easy solution but it is the one that God has given to us.  First of all, accept His forgiveness of all the wrong you have done to Him and then He will help you in giving forgiveness to those who have hurt you.


So what emotional baggage are you carrying around today?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Jesus comes in the midst of the torrent."

  A thought by Max Lucado from his book,  You Are Never Alone  (p. 60). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)   We all have storms in our lives, don't we? Max says, "No one gets through life scot-free. At one point or another the sky will darken, the winds will rage, and we will find ourselves in a modern-day version of the Galilean gusher." John 6:16–18 (NIV) says, "When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough." Max goes on, "The hearts of the followers began to sink as their boat was certain to do. Their skin was soaked, throats hoarse, eyes wide. They searched the sky for a break in the clouds. They gripped the boat for fear of the waves. They screamed their prayers for help. But they heard nothing. "If only Jesu

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because God is good He will use e

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident.   In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose.   In other words you are not an accident.   I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth.   In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man.   And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ”   Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like?   Like that characteristic is a curse or something.   Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God.   Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Jesus did answer the question about the blind