The Bag

What girl does not own a bag?!   

Some bags are bought as bargains, some given as presents and some bought as treats such as mine which I bought in New York! 

But forgetting about the practical stuff, who carries around all the things you need daily?  Who or what is valuable to you? 

For me, there are many things and people who are valuable to me.  The things being things that I would like to happen in my future and sometimes even material things like my phone and jewellery.  But I know that ultimately, all these things are going to disappear, as this earth isn’t our eternal destination.  I won’t be able to keep them, and as much joy as they bring me while I’m here, I hold them all loosely.  

There are many things that I carry around in my bag which I need all the time, such as my phone, my purse and my keys.  If we were looking at it in a different way, there are many things I carry around with me daily in my head and my heart that I know I DON’T need to carry with me.  For example, my bag has a habit of storing hair clips, bands and receipts!  But in my head and my heart, there are things that I want for my future that I worry about, people in my present that I worry about.  In many of these situations we can more often than not be powerless as God has a plan for our lives that surpasses anything else we can ever imagine –

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11

We can be sure that these plans that God has for us are better than any plans we want because He knows us better than we know ourselves -

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”
Psalm 139:16

I also know I don’t need to carry these things around because when you’re a Christian and you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour, He calls us to give our worries to Him for Him to look after and sort out!

“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-29

In case you didn’t know what a yoke is, it’s a device that is basically used to join two oxen together to help them work better.  So in this sense, Jesus calls us to take on His yoke, where He will do all the hard work and the heavy lifting and we get to walk alongside Him and learn from Him. 

But how do we do this?  I think it’s very easy for people to tell us “Don’t worry about it, God has it all planned out and it’s in His hands!” which yes, is totally 100% true!  I have heard this countless times.  Jesus tells us this Himself in Matthew 6:25-34.  This passage is REALLY worth a read – it’s a good one to read and then pray about afterwards, so I’ll let you read this one in your own time.

If I’m honest, I often struggle to let go and leave things with Him as I feel there is always something else I should be doing.  There is, in a sense – when Jesus asks us to carry His yoke, it would be unfair for one ox to do all the work and the other to do nothing.  How I interpret the instruction is that I need to do my best alongside Him.  I need to wait on Him for guidance, support, love and care and when I make myself open to receive those things, I will be guided in the right way and able to do my best through Him who strengthens me –

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Phillippians 4:13

But He also calls us to listen to His voice and TRUST Him with our worries:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

It’s easier to trust God when we know what He has done for us and who He is to us.  He knows us SO much better than we know ourselves.  Thank goodness!!  You just have to read the rest of Psalm 139 to see how well He knows us.  If all my plans happened the way I wanted them to, then with them would also come disappointment and probably regret.

Our God is AWESOME!  To say that we can trust Him is enough.  We have ABSOLUTELY no reason to worry, about ANYTHING.  Our GOD is our STRENGTH, and His joy gives us that.  Yet I do, all the time. 

If you take one thing away from this today, then let this be it:

“Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4

I can honestly tell you, that when I let go of my thoughts and let God in, things are different. 
I try to do this by putting on a worship album or one of my favourite worship songs and just listening to the words.  The more words I listen to about how amazing God is, the smaller my problems get, and faith rises in me, by knowing that God is SO much greater than anything I worry about.  It puts things in perspective.  And then when I begin to worship Him, my whole attitude changes, I feel lighter and God steps in.  Sometimes it can be hard just to listen, but if you let Him and give Him the opportunity, He will make you feel peaceful and give you joy!

We can delight ourselves in Him by simply knowing His hand on our lives and worshipping Him.  Think positive!  Even if you don’t realise it, He has done so much for you already.  He gave you the strength to get out of bed this morning.  The transport to get to school, college or work.  The people around you who love you.  And that’s just scratching the surface!