WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKPACK?

A friend sent me a facebook message that she was feeling very heavy and added that she felt her burdens were too much for anyone else to even carry along side her. She was feeling pretty low, huh? It got me to thinking, selfishly I hate to confess. I feel exactly like she sometimes, but I am learning a hard lesson along the "weighty" road.

I'm not very wise when it comes to interpreting scripture or actual theology, but what I see in my mind's eye tonight is me carrying a backpack of hopes and dreams and every so often when I hold them too close or covet them, and do not offer them up to God or I begin to believe more in the contents of my backpack than in God's plan and will for my life, I believe satan sneaks in, takes out a hope or a dream and puts in a heavy rock to burden me with - heaviness abounds. He sneaks in again and repeats the process when I'm not watching and waiting in prayer. Over and over this process happens. If I'm not careful the cunninng evil one eventually causes the load to be heavier than I can carry and as time has passed, I haven't noticed that it until it is overwhelming. I have to start emptying out the backpack, one by one, laying the stones at the Cross and asking God to fill me back up with His spirit, remind me of my calling and purpose, His will for my life, restore and renew my hopes and dreams and replace that empty backpack with all that He wants me to have, one by one. When I fill it up with what God wants me to, the backpack is so light and easy to carry, but what I don't see from my view is that the backpack is over loaded, busting at the seams and that God is helping me carry it with his hand underneath it and me as we walk along. With my strength renewed at the Cross, I find my walk easier, better, more joyful and oh so worth it. Simply going back to the cross, emptying out the junk and letting the Holy Spirit give me a refill makes all the difference.

Heaviness is never too much for God to help with and I want to be a Christian friend that helps others shoulder their burdens through prayer and fasting. I have also found that when I focus on someone else, my issues often times fade away. Perhaps they were not as big as I thought, they were resolved without my constant guidance or God simply whisked them away in his divine providence.

My backpack has been heavy, but right now, I'm emptying it out, placing my burdens down one by one, praying as I go. Oh what a pile of rocks I have.

In the old testament, a pile of rocks ofen signified where a battle had taken place. Believe me, the battle is raging. As my Dad would say, read the last chapter of the book (The Bible), see who wins. Perhaps our backpack is actually a piece of armour in disguise and once it is emptied, we are to use it as our shield or breastplate? Hmmm...he equips us for the battle! He makes a memorial from the stones to remind us of where we've been in battle!

I think I have some more emptying out of my backpack to do. It's lighter, much lighter actually, but there's more for me to do. What's in your backpack?