Less Baggage, More FreedomSample

In Luke 1, something incredible happens. After 400 years of silence from God, the people of Israel once again heard Him speak.

There was a priest named Zechariah. His wife, Elizabeth, was a descendant of Moses' brother Aaron. The text says, "Both were righteous in God's sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord."

They were righteous people from righteous families, But they could not have children.

I don't know if Zechariah and Elizabeth had baggage from their inability to have children, but I would. If I wanted to have kids, got married, and couldn't have children for decades, I'd have some intense feelings about that—anger, pain, frustration, or even resentment, especially in a culture where the sign that you were righteous was that you were fruitful.

Have you ever experienced disappointment with God?

It is inevitable that if you follow Jesus, you will experience disappointment. Disappointment with God is so challenging for us because we approach God from a transactional perspective: "If I have enough faith, God will bless me. If I'm not experiencing the blessings of God, that's due to my lack of faith." This approach encourages us to trust, believe, pray, read, do, or give more so that God can bless us.

This transactional approach needs to be abandoned. During the holiday season, we often find ourselves fighting unreasonable expectations and feeling the temptation to project perfection. Everything is far from great under the surface, though.

Consider this prompt. "I thought God would ___________________ by now."

How would you fill in this blank?

"I thought God would give me a child by now. I thought God would bring my spouse to Christ by now. I thought God would take care of that debt by now. I thought God would give me a clean bill of health by now."

But that hasn't happened.

So perhaps you're still distant, haven't reconciled, are still not talking, are unemployed, and are in debt.

It's much easier to admit you have baggage than to deal with it. I can't see your baggage just as you cannot see mine. But here's what I've discovered. Our baggage is often unseen until it can't be unseen. We try to hide it. We try to deny it. We try to push it away. We try to keep it hidden until something happens, and we explode! When we refuse to deal with our baggage, our decisions affect others.

The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth is about to get very interesting. But before I share what happens next with you, I want to encourage you to pause and identify the baggage you've been carrying that's been weighing you down. I encourage you to get honest about how it's made you feel. And finally, I encourage you to re-read Matthew 11:28-30.

Jesus came so you could experience less baggage and more freedom. He came to bear the weight you couldn't carry so you could live the life He created you to live.

The next Day in this Plan includes a surprising turn of events for Zechariah and Elizabeth. It's a reminder that this time of year often includes moments we didn't see coming.