Just a few months ago, I set aside some time to really look at myself and my life. I had been reading The Four Agreements lately and have always felt that it was very applicable to my situation. So, during this exercise of self-reflection, I discovered the genesis cause of all my problems. And the problem isn’t what you’d expect from someone who’s from a Christian family and attended a Christian school most of his life. The problem isn’t tattoos or smoking or beer or television. The problem isn’t pornography or sex outside of marriage or marijuana use.
Bible study on baggage is a collection of Bible studies (or insights) from different authors that have been compiled into one anthology – “a book containing a number of short literary compositions”. Bible study on baggage is a collaborative effort of Christian bloggers who share their perspectives about various topics. Bloggers involved in this project have different life experiences, are from different parts of the world, but they agree upon one thing: getting God out of “the box” and into every area in our lives…
My name is Jonathan and I’m so glad you are here! I am a single father of 4, with two boys and two girls ranging in age from 12 to 16. I’ve spent the last fifteen years as an engineer for a large airline. My current position is working with the FAA researching airport design improvements and runways that will be more efficient for our large aeroplanes. My previous position was working with the Environmental Protection Agency, Animal Control and most importantly, Domestic Violence shelters.
Bible Study On Baggage
Baggage is a bible study to offer comfort, counsel and encouragement to those who have been, or fear they will be, entangled in the chains and shackles of psychological hurts that have built up through our experiences thus far. Ultimately we bear the scars from wounds of disappointment, guilt, resentment, rebellion and embarrassment that are outside of God’s original design for our lives. So this study will look at identifying baggage and how do we get rid of it.
The baggage we carry is the result of wounds that have been inflicted on us by others and ourselves. The wounded child within us is what Jesus came to heal.
The wounded child within us is what Jesus came to heal.
The baggage we carry can be defined as the wounds we have received from others or have inflicted upon ourselves. We all need to learn how to open up our hearts and let go of the things that are holding us back from being all that God wants us to be.
We all have baggage, but it’s not something we want others to see. It’s a part of who we are and what makes us unique, but sometimes it can get in the way of our relationship with God, our family, friends and co-workers.
What does it mean for you when someone says: “You’ve got some serious baggage”? What does that mean for you?
The Bible teaches us that we all have baggage. I don’t mean the kind of baggage you pack for a trip, but rather the emotional baggage that comes from life experiences.
Many people think of baggage as something negative, but it’s actually a good thing if we understand what our baggage is and how to deal with it.
The first step in dealing with our emotional baggage is to identify it. Some people are more aware of their baggage than others, but in order to deal with it effectively, we need to take some time to make an honest assessment of ourselves and our lives.
Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself:
What personality traits or character flaws do I struggle with? What is causing me pain or preventing me from being happy? How can I change these things? What parts of my past still affect my present? How do those memories impact my life now?
The next step is to find out how your emotional baggage affects other people around you — especially your spouse or significant other. Here are some questions you may want to ask:
How does my behavior affect others? Do they feel judged or criticized by me? Do they feel like they’re always walking on eggshells because one wrong move might set me off emotionally?
The Bible says that “the righteous man walks in his integrity” (Psalm 11:3). The righteous man is the man who walks in his integrity. He doesn’t have to worry about what other people think of him because he knows who he is and what he believes.
He doesn’t have to worry about whether or not he will be accepted by others because he is confident in who he is, his beliefs and his actions. The righteous man has no baggage!
The way you carry your baggage has a lot to do with how you travel. This week, we’re going to explore what it means to carry our burdens, and how we can make sure we’re doing it in a way that honors God.
Let’s start with the story of Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. As they were casting their nets into the sea, they caught an incredible amount of fish. But then they saw a disciple whom Jesus loved (John), who beckoned them to follow him in another direction. When they did, they left all their fish behind (Luke 5:1-11).
This was not only an amazing act of faith, but also an important lesson on how to manage our baggage: Don’t let anything hold you back from following Jesus! As we continue on this journey through life together at CCF, we want to encourage each other to leave any baggage behind that may be hindering us from getting closer to God.
The story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears is one of the most touching and well-known stories in the bible.
Jesus was teaching a large crowd when a woman approached him. She knelt down at his feet and began to cry. She wiped her tears on her hair and held out a container of perfume.
She said, “Lord, I will not leave you as long as you live.” Jesus responded by telling her that she was like anointing oil poured on his body. (John 12:3-8)
The disciples were surprised by this woman’s devotion and asked Jesus why he let her do it. He answered, “Why do you trouble this woman? Because she has done what she could.” Jesus then explained that many people would come from the east and west to be with him but he would tell them all to go home because there was no room for them in his Kingdom (Matt 25:1-13).
The Bible is full of stories about people who have baggage.
We’ve all got our own baggage—we’re human, after all! But we don’t always know how to deal with it. Sometimes, the only way to get rid of your own baggage is to accept that there’s nothing wrong with you, and then get rid of it. The key is knowing what to do with the stuff you’re carrying around.
In this study, we’ll look at three different situations where people were carrying around heavy burdens: a widow who was trying to pay off her husband’s debts (2 Kings 4:1-7), a father whose son was killed by a lion (2 Kings 17:25-26), and a man who had been sick for 38 years (John 5:1-15). We’ll see how each of these people learned to let go of their burdens by turning them over to God in prayer.
What is baggage?
Baggage is a term used to describe the emotional, physical, and mental effects of past trauma. It can be the result of a single traumatic event or many experiences over time. In the context of this study, we will focus on baggage as it relates to sexual abuse and other forms of abuse.
How does baggage impact us?
When we have been through things that have deeply affected us, it can be hard to move forward in life without dealing with those things first. This often includes unlearning unhealthy coping mechanisms or behaviors that were developed during times of stress or trauma. But how do we go about doing this? First, we must identify what our baggage looks like and identify when it first showed up in our lives. Second, we must take responsibility for what we are carrying around inside us and decide whether or not it is serving us well enough to keep around any longer! Third, we must learn how to get rid of some (or all) of our baggage so that our lives can become healthier and more fulfilling than ever before!
The Bible is full of metaphors. One of my favorite ones is the idea of baggage.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus says that “it’s better to carry your own cross than to wait for another to carry it for you.” In other words, it’s better to own your mistakes and problems than let someone else shoulder them for you.
In the book of Luke, Jesus says that if you want to be his disciple, “leave everything behind” and follow him. In other words? If you want to follow God, it’s not about keeping all your stuff; it’s about letting go of it.
These two passages have stuck in my mind for years because they remind me that my struggles are mine alone—not something I can hand off onto someone else.
The baggage we carry can be so heavy, but we all have it. We all have things that weigh us down, drag us down, and make us feel like we’re not good enough.
But you are enough. You’re not just enough—you’re more than enough! As a Christian, you have the power of God inside you to overcome whatever life throws your way. And if you don’t believe me, believe Jesus: “I tell you the truth,” he said, “you will do even greater things than these.” (John 14:12)
God didn’t give us burdens because he wanted to make our lives harder; he gave them to us because he knew they would make us stronger if we let them. When you carry around a burden of guilt or shame or fear or anger, it’s heavy—but when you let go of that burden, Jesus promises that he will always be there with open arms ready to pick up the pieces and help you put them back together again.
You are enough. You are loved by God. And nothing can change that fact—not even yourself!
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you didn’t belong, or that you were not good enough?
We have all felt that way at one time or another. We have all felt like we don’t fit in, or that we are not good enough. It’s an unfortunate part of life. But what if I told you that God is the only one who can lift us out of this place?
Think about it…if we are not good enough for God, then who is? If He doesn’t accept us for who we are, then who will?
In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus tells us about two men who were traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. One man was a Pharisee named Zacchaeus, and the other was a tax collector named Levi (also known as Matthew). As they traveled together on their journey home from work one day, they saw Jesus walking down the road. They immediately recognized him as a Jew; however, he was not wearing his customary robes and hat because he had just come from the synagogue where he had prayed all day long (Luke 5:16). So both men decided to turn around and follow him down an alleyway off to the side so they could talk
Leaving Your Baggage Behind
Philippians 3:12-16: Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
We who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior have been assigned a purpose that requires that we are moving forward in progressing toward our spiritual maturity. As we move on from stage to stage, year after year, we find that goal that God has for us is to finish our journey in this life with Him. The challenge for us in moving forward with the Lord is knowing when and what luggage in our lives must be left behind or discarded from us. These things have no positive place in the dominance of our minds or our emotions.
We all have relationships, experiences, and troubles in life that are at times very painful and even damaging to us and we find it difficult move on because of the negative impact that these things have had on us. They pull us down or weigh us down in our pursuit of God’s will for our lives. As a result, we live with certain feelings, patterns of thinking and relational conflicts that should not have continuous holds upon our present lives. They do not relate to the present or the future, but to issues from a previous time in our lives. Because we never properly dealt with these issues, we tend to carry them with us in some way and they get in the way of present relationships, present choices, opportunities, or our ability to set and stick to our present goals. The tragedy for some is that this cycle of bondage (negative baggage) that we continue to carry with us does not go away until we choose to deal with it or be finished with it as a part of our lives.
God’s ways are not our ways, but God’s ways will always deliver us when we walk in accordance to His counsel from the Word:
- Admit that there is luggage from the past and be willing to confess it to be what it is. If there is past luggage that affects your present, denying it is really a form of lying to yourself and God. Truthfulness about it breaks any justification as to why we should continue to carry them any further in our lives.
- Confidently receive God’s forgiveness if this luggage is a matter of the pain from our personal failure. Leaving this kind of baggage behind means we are fully convinced by God’s authority that we are totally accepted, forgiven and loved.
- Be willing to forgive others with a surrendered heart that is open to God’s help. Unforgiveness of the past blocks our experience of His will in the present. Release the past offender and yield your pain to God for His healing and freedom to move on to lay hold to the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
- Get spiritually mature, godly, and even professional help to heal if you are stuck in deep heart turmoil. Keeping pain from the past active can be self-destructive to our physical and spiritual health and well- being.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I know you have called me to live as a light in this world to reveal You. Please help me to break from the painful bondage of my past issues so that I can live in the full energy and freedom to pursue your goals for my life. I will give You praise and thanks, in Jesus Name, amen.
Let Go of Emotional Baggage
Baggage comes in two forms: the physical stuff you pack into luggage or backpacks, and the emotional stuff you pack away inside of you. My husband and I just returned from vacation and packing extra hiking gear and having an extra piece of baggage got me thinking about the extra emotional baggage we (including myself) carry around every day. We lug around past mistakes, abuses, anger, stress, worry, fear; you name it. It is unnecessary weight and can come with consequences. God doesn’t want us to carry these burdens. How can we let go of emotional baggage?
Emotional Baggage Definition
Here’s a definition from the Collins Dictionary that sums up our emotional baggage: “the feelings you have about your past and the things that have happened to you, which often have a negative effect on your behavior and attitudes.” We pack them as soon as our hurts and conflicts remain unresolved.
The first step? Open that bag and see what unresolved stuff we’ve packed away.
- Has part of your world has fallen apart?
- Do unpleasant memories keep popping up?
- Has someone hurt you with words or actions?
- Do you feel ashamed or misunderstood?
- Are there unresolved conflicts or reoccurring fears/worries that cause anxiety?
- Is it hard for you to forgive yourself for past mistakes?
Unresolved Emotions
Emotional baggage weighs us down and can be barriers to the life God wants us to live. He wants us to experience joy and hope, not conflict and pain. Worry and fear can trap us in a vicious circle and steal our joy. Living in anger is a festering poison. Unresolved emotional baggage can have a detrimental effect on our physical health as well. Anxiety, insomnia, depression, headaches, chronic pain, and high blood pressure are just a few ways they can manifest themselves.
Releasing Emotional Baggage
God wants to take that emotional baggage from you. He has seen you in the hard places and he has heard every unkind word spoken to you. God knows your secrets and what you’ve been through. He knows it all and loves you wholly and unconditionally. God is the only person who will never leave us or turn his back on us.
“God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’” Hebrews 13:5 NLT.
Bring your emotions to God instead of packing them into your emotional baggage.
He gave us our emotions and would love to see us use them in the correct way. He wants to work in us and direct us. It is God’s desire to comfort and reassure us. He wants us to work through tough emotions, not pack them away for later.
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Mt 11:28 NIV.
Giving Your Burdens to God
Speak to him about it. Ask for his insight. Pray for guidance. Unpack the burden and see yourself placing it in his outstretched hands. Remind yourself that he is in control. He promises to “sustain you” when you give him your burden. “Sustain” means he wants to comfort, help, assist, encourage, support, and strengthen you!
“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22 NIV
Refuse to pack stress and worry.
They don’t help you achieve your goals and they don’t change the outcome or prevent bad situations. Don’t give them a place to live in your heart or mind. God wants to live there. Don’t squeeze him out.
“I tell you, do not worry about your life…. Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “ Mt 6: 25-27
Don’t Live in the Past
Confess past mistakes, receive forgiveness and move forward.
He doesn’t want us living in the past. He wants his peace to cover us completely and heal our hurts and regrets.
“If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” 1 John 1:9
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” Isaiah 43:18 NIV
Managing Your Emotions
Jesus gives us a great example of how to manage our emotions.
His human nature struggled on his last night with the events he knew were ahead. He spent that time with his closest friends on earth. Sorrow and agony overwhelmed Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.
•He took Peter, James, and John and went to pray privately to His Father.
Do you isolate yourself in times of trouble?
•Jesus shows us that after going to our Father, we should turn to our trusted friends.
Christians aren’t meant to live in isolation. Ask for prayer, encouragement, and reassurance. Share what’s going on, ask for help.
“Carry each other’s burdens.” Galatians 6:2
“Comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” 2Cor 1:4
•And like Jesus, pray, and keep praying.
Three times that night Jesus prayed the same prayer to his Father. He poured himself out to him. It wasn’t easy, but he did not stop. He recognized that he needed to rely on his Father. Imagine how different managing our emotions would be if we did likewise. God hears our prayers!
Jesus tells us “in this world you will have trouble.” Expect it but remember the beautiful promise that comes next! “Take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) He wants us to face our problems with courage and strength.
Claim his peace for your life and let go of your emotional baggage!