NOTE: This devotional is from our free book, ‘The Christian Pilgrim’s Insider’s Guide: Tips For The Ultimate Journey To Lands Of The Bible. Just click on the right to get your free copy today.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11: 28 – 30 NIV
It’s the one hour packing scramble before you have to head to the airport. Your stomach is doing flip-flops. You start talking to yourself, “Just one more shoe! Oh no! Where are my power adaptors? I weighed my suitcase; it’s only 5 pounds overweight. Maybe if I stuff my pants, shirt and coat pockets I can drop it to the limit. What am I going to do now? I don’t have any room for souvenirs!”
This is the experience of many pilgrims, as they frantically get ready to head to the Holy Land. People drag their suitcases to the check-in lane, straining under the pressure like belts after a Thanksgiving dinner.
It can be a challenge to pack for the Holy Land because of all the microclimates. One day you’re slathered in sunscreen in Qumran and the next day you’re quivering in your woolies as sleet slaps you in Jerusalem.
Maybe your suitcase will still be heavy but before you enter the Holy Land consider allowing your heart to pack light. For the sake of receiving all that God has for you on your pilgrimage, why don’t you let go of the extra baggage before you step on the plane?
God never intended you to be weighted down with a burden of bitterness, the heaviness of a hard heart, or a load of a legalism.
When Jesus hung on the cross, suspended between heaven and earth, His voice lifted your load as He proclaimed the words for all time and eternity, “It is finished!” When he burst forth from the grave with the power of the One who spoke the earth into existence He swept away the weight that you were never intended to carry.
Any baggage you may be holding is not even yours. Jesus paid for it. He owns it. Don’t hold onto it and longer. It isn’t yours. Give it to Him. You’ll find that you are far more open to receive all that God has in store for you in the Holy Land when you’re not hauling that baggage and when your hands are ready to receive.
Prayer: Dear God, I have held onto so many things that aren’t even mine to carry. I want a lighter load. I want to be free to receive all that you have for me on my pilgrimage. I give you my bitterness, my shame, my legalism, my anger, my disappointment, my fears and my broken dreams. They are yours and I surrender them anew. Thank you God for carrying these for me so willingly. Thank you for helping me to travel light. In Jesus name, Amen.
