It’s Time to Deal with the Emotional Baggage – Philippians 2:1
You know what a pain baggage can be every time you carry multiple duffle bags, storage bags, suitcases, and other objects to an airport — and what a feeling of relief you get when you finally set them down. Now imagine carrying around a ton of baggage in your life all day, every day; the emotional baggage — results of past trauma, abandonment, abuse — that can keep us from optimal emotional health. Now imagine the feeling of setting such baggage down … finally.
We can think of a spiritual “gas station” — a place where all of us need to continually go to “fill up” with God’s grace. Now, meditate on the following questions: How long do you wait when you’re running low on gas to fill your tank back up? How long we all wait to seek the Lord’s grace and power and covering? Is it when we’re running on empty? When it’s more likely we’ll make bad decisions in a state of spiritual exhaustion? Or will we get filled up frequently?
This is all connected to the themes found in verse 1 of Philippians chapter 2: “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy…”
The word “so” — the very first word of the verse — indicates a reaction to Paul’s past instructions to his brothers and sisters in the church at Philippi, which described to them the idea that they (and we) are soldiers on a mission, marching and moving forward while engaged in conflict, both spiritually and sometimes even physically.
And in order to engage successfully in such a mission, our emotional health needs to be optimal, doesn’t it?
Do you have emotional baggage strapped to your shoulders, in your hands, and under your arms as you wobble down life’s path? Is your spiritual gasoline down to the “E” with the red light on? May the Lord help all of us to set down the baggage and fill up with his grace, mercy, and power each and every day.
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