Excess Baggage
Check your spiritual luggage!
Excess Baggage
By Autumn R. Finklea
For All My Travelers
For all my travelers this holiday weekend: pause and check your luggage. Are you carrying excess baggage?
The Travel Struggle
When traveling, it’s customary for me to carry both a backpack and a suitcase. Believe me, I find a way to fill my luggage to maximum capacity. Can you relate? It’s all good—until the airline agent notifies you that you have excess baggage and will need to either pay a fee or remove items to reduce the weight. This can be frustrating, to say the least.
Beyond the steep fees you may face, the weight guidelines are in place for safety reasons—the plane can only hold so much weight.
The Spiritual Parallel
Friends, just like we exceed the capacity of our favorite luggage, we often stuff our hearts and minds with fear, worries, and other burdens that leave us spiritually overweight. God never intended for us to carry our excess baggage alone. As we journey through life, He welcomes us to check in with Him—through prayer and reading His Word.
In the quiet, safe space of His presence, we can lay down the spiritual burdens we carry. And guess what? He won’t charge us a fee or make us remove anything first.
A Moment of Reflection
Today, find a quiet area to sit and reflect on what’s currently sitting in your spiritual luggage. Identify at least one thing you will commit to take out of the bag and surrender to God today.
Prayer
God, thank You that You see me—and all the baggage I’m carrying in my spirit. Help me not to be so independent and strong that I try to carry what only You can. Today, I surrender _ to You. Thank You that this burden isn’t too heavy for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Power Verse
Matthew 11:28–30 NLT
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
