The other day, I got a vision of myself walking on a long deserted path. I had tons of suitcases and bags in my hands, purses on my shoulders, and I was pushing a box along with my feet. The road I was walking wasn’t a wide open area, but it was a small alleyway, with an iron-fence at the end of it. I was attempting to walk through this tiny area with all of my belongings, but it just wasn’t working. The alley was just big enough to fit me, but none of my bags could make it. Yet there I was, pushing as hard as I could, scraping bags against the wall, trying to force my way through the narrow road. I looked on ahead and saw that the gate to get to the other side was even smaller. If I ever made it to the gate, I would still have to leave everything behind because it would not fit through the narrow gate. So why was I still trudging along with this heavy load? It didn’t make sense.
The road actually represents a couple different things. First of all, I think it represents my Christian walk. As Jesus says in Matthew 7: 14, “…but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” The Christian road is a narrow road. Not only do few find it, but it is really hard when we do. It’s not easy. Of the two different roads we can take, either the Christian life or living for the world, the bible describes the Christian life as narrow and difficult. It actually describes the other path as broad and the gate as wide, full of lost souls.
The road also represents my path for this year. Signing up for the world race, I knew that I was asking to be stretched. I was asking God to test me and grow me–mold me more into the person that he intended me to be. Coming into the year I was half excited to begin this journey, and half terrified of all that I would end up going through… if you give God the go-ahead to challenge you, believe me–He will!
So the perfect way to describe these past 3 months, and the next 9 ahead, is a narrow road. God is stripping me of all that I claim to need, the things that I am gripping for dear life, and even some things that I deny are problems to begin with. The bags represent a variety of things: material possessions, independence, pride, worry, jealousy, anger, bitterness, self-reliance, expectations, etc etc etc! These “belongings” are absolutely weighing me down. I can’t fit down this road unless I release myself of this baggage. Once I let go of these things, I can walk down the path, obstacle-free.
So WHY am I gripping on to them for dear life? Why don’t I just accept the gift that the Lord has offered me free of charge and release all the heavy baggage? My arms are getting tired, my legs are becoming less sturdy, and I am beyond exhausted! And even more than that… this is exactly what I asked for! Coming into this trip I asked God to mold me and shape me to be more like him, yet i am gripping onto all that is unholy and not of God. It just doesn’t make sense.
Psalm 55:1 says: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.” This is a lesson that I am learning about more and more each day. I am not to be sustained by things of this world. Friends can’t do it, family can’t do it, I can’t do it, even coffee can’t do it! Only God can sustain me!
This year God is going to be working in me. My hope and my prayer is that I will learn to release the baggage that is weighing me down and instead give those burdens to God, the only one that can really free me from them. My prayer is that as I venture down the narrow road, I will slowly be stripped of suitcases and boxes and purses, making it easier for me to get to the narrow gate. My prayer is that as I approach the narrow gate, and I pass through to the other side, I will hear those long-awaited words from the only one that matters: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Amen.
