Do We Carry Unnecessary Baggage?

When I read Genesis 12:5, the first thing that comes into my mind is the phrase, "unnecessary baggage." At the beginning of Genesis 12, God called Abram to leave everything - his country, his people, and his father's household. God was taking him to a new land, and would make him into a great nation. Abram was going to be blessed. In fact, all people on earth would be blessed through Abram.

It is challenging to look at how Abram left. Verse 5 says that he took his wife, his nephew, all their possessions, and the persons they had acquired. As we try to picture this scenario in our heads, it just seems that Abram would have needed several U-Haul trucks to make this move.

The fact that they didn't have the convenience of U-Haul makes this journey really appear difficult, to say the least.

This picture encourages us to consider a couple of key questions about how we approach our own journeys with God.

What unnecessary baggage am I carrying?

Our lives are full of transition. God is constantly leading us into new territory as he works on molding us for His Kingdom. Sometimes, we don't want to go where God is taking us, while other times, we can't wait to get out of our present condition.

Every situation we experience has a lasting effect on us. Some are more obvious. Some are more painful. Some cause us to close up or put up walls to protect us from future hurt.

But those walls don't always do what we designed them to do. While those barriers may keep "things" from getting to us, they also restrict our access to things we that may need as we enter the next stage of our lives.

Imagine with me what it would be like to climb a mountain with a huge, heavy backpack. How much easier would our climb be if we didn't have to carry anything on our backs?

Let's examine ourselves to see what burdens we may be able to unload to make our journey through life a little simpler.

Am I really trusting God on my journey?

Abram's caravan also leads us to think about how we pack for a trip. Moms are notorious for this, but I'm sure just about any traveler can relate. Any time we are going to be away from home for an extended amount of time, we start creating dozens and dozens of "what if" scenarios to help us determine what we are going to pack.

Each scenario gets more outrageous, and we find ourselves packing things that we have the most remote chance of needing. For example, do we really need 5 or 6 outfits and/or pairs of shoes for a weekend trip?

The same applies to our life in general. Are we holding on to things just in case we need them, or are we trusting God to provide? This can be at home, where we are storing stuff that we haven't used, yet alone looked at, in years.

This can also be in our finances, where we are holding on to multiple credit cards for those times when we find something that we really want but can't afford. Hebrews 13:5 tells us, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" (NIV)

If we are unwilling to let go of some of the things we are holding on to, where will we find room for the new blessings God has planned for us?

Do we really need to worry about anything with God in our lives? 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." (NIV)

The challenge comes with slowing down enough to allow God to take control over our lives. If we think about the earlier reference to carrying the backpack up the mountain, we need to give that backpack to God. Psalm 46:10 instructs us, "Be still, and know that I am God." (NIV)

We should thank God that He loves us enough to carry our burdens. Let's pray for a heart of complete obedience toward a Father who wants nothing but the best for us.

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