Release the Baggage

"The past isn't the past if it's affecting your present."

I believe that the past is the strongest thing that the devil can hold against you and use against you in your walk with God. He knows just how much pain you experienced, how much regret you may hold in your heart, and just what things to bring back up again  to destroy you. Baggage from your past is rough. It is very hard to let go of, and it is even harder to forget.

Many things can be baggage from your past. The past can hold many regrets that may range from bad grades in high school to affairs or promiscuity. Baggage is heavy and shouldn't be carried into the present or future.

Julie Barnhill, an author from another devotional book, writes, "Secrets hold their power only when they are hidden. Once placed in the light of God's love and revealed, they lose their power." I think that the best thing to do with those secrets and baggage is to bring them to light. Tell God about them. I know He already knows, but talking to Him may be the very thing that needs to happen.

Here are a few other steps to take in releasing that old baggage:

• Acknowledge them
• Accept responsibility
• Make amends
• Forgive yourself

Looking to God for help will be the best step you can take for releasing the past! Allow Him to take it from you - then walk away knowing that He has thrown it to the bottom of the sea.

"Wisdom: to live in the present, plan for the future, and profit from the past."