Backpacks are awesome! I just love mine – it holds a ton of stuff and almost anything I feel I might need during a day is in there. My iPod, the charger, headphones, an external hard drive, a scan disk, an adapter, usb drives, pens, pencils, power cords, my macbook, mail from the last 2 weeks, my Bible… I think you get the picture.
In reality I need to clean it out….but what do I remove? I’m sure the minute I take something out is the very moment I am going to need it.
But last week I decided I was going to do just that – clean it out. I emptied EVERY pocket and let me tell you there are a lot of pockets – just ask my wife. Many is the time that I have asked her to grab something for me and told her which pocket it was in. But, trying to figure out which pocket is the back pocket or the pocket inside of the third pocket ends up only being a lesson in futility (which for the record is not her fault.)
So there I sat emptying everything out onto my desk…it was an amazing site. There were piles everywhere! I couldn’t believe how much stuff was in there. Piece by piece I went through everything and you know what happened? Yep – it ALL ended up back in the back pack. I didn’t get rid of anything I simply changed where I kept it.
We all wear backpacks in life. Everyday we collect things and we stuff them inside. Some things we keep on top and easily accessible. Other things we bury deep down and hope to hide. Some things we like and want to share with others. Other things we hope no one ever sees. The only problem is that the more and more things we stuff in our backpack the heavier it gets. And let me tell you it can get very heavy and we don’t even realize it.
So today why don’t you sit back and empty your backpack. Take inventory of what’s in there. Find out what you want to keep, what you need to keep, and what you need to get rid of. Perhaps you have guilt, anger, jealously, fears, failures, shortcomings, or any number of things, you need to get rid of.
Find someone you trust. Find someone you know cares. Find a pastor. But find someone who can help you as you empty your backpack of the stuff you don’t need.
But, let me tell you it starts with Jesus! He is the one who can and wants to help you lighten the load – these other people – they are the ones that can help keep you accountable during the purging!
So until next time…
Pastor Barry
Pastor Barry's Blog 