What's in your luggage bag?

People-watching at the airport never gets old. You can always get a glimpse of someone's personality based on how they pack when they're going on a trip. You have...

Type A: The neat packer with the nice (possibly designer) luggage bag and purse, nothing too bulky or loud. They're probably the 'professionals' in the bunch who are used to traveling with the least amount of 'baggage'.

Type B: They strut a big black luggage bag, big purse, big backpack. They're the type that pack a little extra underwear 'just in case'. Just in case, what? I'm not sure :D. I can make fun of this group because I contribute to the mix.

Type C: They're seen carrying loud suitcases with tacky decor; an unraveling gaudy Christmas ribbon is fastened on the handle of each luggage bag. You'd be right to guess they've packed an entire wardrobe with a theme to match that of their vacation spot. :D

In the end, everyone's got baggage. And we all think it's safely packed away when the zipper closes... that is, until we get to security-check :). They see it all. Even the bags we don't carry-on the plane get scanned; privacy is nonexistent for safety's sake, and I don't mind one bit.

In life, which type are you? Most of us probably fall into the first category. We carry our purses or handbags full of the things we just can't seem to part with. Even if we clean 'em out, they always get full of gum-wrappers, old receipts and movie ticket stubs. To the outside world we seem to have 'it' all together. We're neat-freaks, figuratively and maybe even literally speaking. Yet we're still carrying around the junk that won't get past life's security check. We'll have to leave these things behind; this time it's for our soul's sake.

Jesus spent most of his time on earth around the physically and spiritually sick, or those who would admit to needing him. Tax collectors and leapers were his pals. Repeatedly, Jesus says he 'was sent only to the lost sheep' (Matthew 15: 24). The only ones who found healing were those who "came and knelt before him" (v. 25) or reached out and touched his cloak: "And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed." (Mark 6:56) There wasn't anything standing in the way between them and the final destination, healing.

Our baggage literally holds us back from receiving blessings and every kind of healing, from the spiritual to physical. When we're getting ready to travel and leave the safety of our homes, we pack the extra belongings we 'think' we might need. Usually we're just creating more work for ourselves; more stuff to carry. They're things that way us down; more junk for security to rummage through. In the end, we simply make the trip even more stressful than it already is. And, of course, our carry-ons are full of the objects we really need, they represent the items we cling to -- maybe they're our most 'priceless possessions' or stuff that keeps us entertained.

Our spiritual baggage is made up of all that we "must rid yourselves of... such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander..." (Colossians 3:8). Let's not forget, "'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Jesus said this when he dined with 'the lost sheep'.

Many of us view God as condemning, someone who will judge and show no compassion, especially in regards to sin and the baggage we cling to. It seems we fail to acknowledge the verse that follows: "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice'..." (Matthew 9: 13)

It's true that "Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them." (Matthew 15:30) It also holds that Jesus came to offer relief to the lost sheep from the ailments that separated them from him. Though God is the ultimate judge, Jesus said, "For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it" (John 12:47) He is the intercessor we can hand our baggage to with confidence; he is and truly offers security. He will sift through every unnecessary thing we've packed; he'll tell us what's safe to carry on the journey, so long as we're willing to draw near and give him the baggage that separates us from his healing hand.

Psalm 69:5
You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.

Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Daniel 2:22
He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

Job 28:11
He searches the sources of the rivers and brings hidden things to light.

Everyone's Calling

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 8:17

I've read those verses before, but I'm just beginning to understand the connections between the two. I used to believe that the only people who truly suffered for Christ were those who were on the mission field, serving him in the rawest, realest form... so ignorant to believe that, I know. Then I finally realized, this entire Earth is a mission field and we don't even have to interact with anyone to be 'in the battle'; the most obvious battleground is the mind.

If you're trying to live for God, Satan's going to do anything he can to stop that from happening; he doesn't want to be lonely in hell, after all. These days, you're the Job and he's still the same Satan that went up to God and asked for permission to test him. Job lost his property, family, health... but not his God. That man refused to turn his back on God even when his own wife falsely claimed that he'd already turned his back on Job.

Was Job a missionary? Not in the way we use that term today, but his obvious love and devotion to God did minister to those around him and his story still ministers to many today, including myself.

I had a Job day today. It was rough, probably my own fault (I inhaled gluten while baking something for a friend, this sounds crazy but when you have Celiac disease it's a big no-no) -- it still frustrated me. The tummy troubles continue and today they were worse than ever, the pain almost sent me to ER, no joke. I hit a low point where the only thing I could do was pray, as I was losing hope in my body (and realized I was a fool for placing that hope in anyone but God in the first place).

Psalm 22: 4
For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

Times like these, I have to make the extra effort to not let myself get sucked into taking the paradoxical easy way out -- the one that only produces bad results, negative thinking. But as I was balled up on the bed, asking God for guidance and patience, he reminded me that this truly is not a 'struggle against flesh and blood'. It occurred to me that I could confidently cry out to God because I've been trying to put him first in my life, then I realized that's exactly what Satan does not want.

Satan is unhappy, this means I'm doing something right, and he wants to wrong me because of it. Satan enjoys doing this to you and me because he knows how much it hurts God to destroy his creation. The evil one had to ask God for permission to cause the pain and God allowed it to happen. Some might think that God is unfair, but no, he isn't. This is a chance for my relationship with Christ to be strengthened. At my weakest point, if I am still trusting Jesus, he will only bless me for it. This doesn't mean I'll have an instant answered prayer and wake-up cured tomorrow, this does mean I'll have the antidote for my own spiritual illnesses: God's everlasting love and the promise of eternal life that won't include any kind of physical suffering whatsoever.

A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?
Proverbs 18:14

The truth is, as God's children, we are all called to be missionaries; to minister to the world with our own lives, with the choices we make, with the words we say. I often fail miserably; I have the pity-parties. You know, the drawn-out ones that are followed by migraines and puffy, tired eyes? I even have the occasional annoying bad attitude that likes to rear its ugly head when the gut starts acting like a monster. <----These are all things that get me nowhere fast.

Like in Job's case, some might say I have every reason to be angry at God. Doctors have told me everything from "If you ever want to have kids, you'll have to take fertility pills because of your defunct ovaries" (don't like to talk about that much here, just bringing it up to make a point) to "Sorry, there's no cure for your digestive problems, you'll probably be in pain for the rest of your life." But one thing that keeps me going is a wise saying used by a pastor of a church I used to attend: "Don't ask God why, ask him what. 'What am I supposed to learn from this Lord, what is all this for?'" So this is what I did today, and the content in this post what he put on my heart as the answer.

I don't know what you're going through, but we all experience our own version of hell on earth at one point or another. It's obvious we can't trust the state of the economy; we can't know that we'll have a job tomorrow, we can't even be certain that we'll be able to stay healthy so that we can support our families financially. We can only trust that God is faithful and so is his word. Christ said this battle isn't about tangible things but spiritual ones for a reason. The only things we can control are the thoughts that enter our mind and what we do with them; our attitude and heart. The person who gives us the strength to do this right is with us all along, we just have to be willing to cry out to him, even when Satan tries to stifle us.

If you've read this and it's encouraged you, that's the answer to the second part of the above question: 'What is all this for?'. Never underestimate God or his ability to use your negative situation to encourage someone.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26

Living the life

Let the music do the talking

Who: Thomas Dybdahl, award-winning Norwegian singer-songwriter.



Top 3 favorite songs: A Love Story, Everybody Knows, Riverbed (with Morcheeba).



The lyrics, put simply: Non-threatening poetry; sentimental but sincere.



How it'll make you feel: Peaceful, like... watching clouds go by, sprawled out on a blanket after eating a dark chocolate strawberry shortcake, right before sunset :)...



Who will like this? Those who enjoy a good sappy music-induced coma, minus the monotony.



Anything else? : It's what you can listen to in PJs on a rainy day spent at home, but not alone. And the music itself? Think watercolors instead of heavy acrylics.



You might also like: Barzin, Travis, Minor Majority, Nick Drake, Neil Halstead, Alexi Murdoch, Elbow... those featured on the playlist below.