There is a trash bag inside our hearts where all the dark stuff lives. All our sin, pain and brokenness go into this garbage bag: all the pain, brokenness, insecurities, anxieties, fears, concerns, strongholds, lies, burdens, false yokes, doubts, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, hiddenness, pride, jealousy, envy, strife and anger. For some of us, the garbage bag is full, even overflowing, and we don’t really care; in fact, we rummage through the bag daily and proudly, pulling things out to use again and again. These things have become a part of us. We have taken ownership of them, and the bag is like a tool kit of things we have at our disposal when we feel pain, threatened, anger or afraid.
The bag has just as much in it as others, but we have become master organizers and compressors. We have tried to clean up the trash that comes into the bag, wipe off the dust, stains and mess and then we fold it and stuff everything in the bag down to the very bottom, pressing it neatly and flat. We still use it when we need it, but it’s so neat, organized, and pressed down that it looks good. We have figured out a way to make the trash, the brokenness and sin appear good, right or healthy. We are masters of deception, so as long as we can fool ourselves into thinking the trash won’t harm us, we continue to use things from this bag so long as it serves us somehow.
Some things get so rooted in our identity that they become a part of who we are. They get so ingrained in our identity that it’s hard to distinguish if they are actually good or bad. They just are. We accept them because they seem to work for us, they seem to serve our desires and purposes and they feel so natural that they couldn’t possibly be bad for us.
For something to be rooted in our identity, we must take ownership of it. Like a possession that we have bought and it belongs to us, in the same way, we must possess it for it to root into us. The problem is that when it becomes a part of our identity, we no longer possess it; it possesses us. Things that are rooted in our identity are not easily changed. We cannot just decide that we do not want to be that person anymore. We must go through a process of breaking our agreement with that part of our identity: we must return it to another owner.
Spend some time with God to find out what trash you are holding onto. What is God speaking to you about letting go of today? Your trash might be neat, clean and packaged so pretty, but it’s time to let go for something new!
What have you been holding onto that God is asking you to let go of?
Your Turn: Let us know your response to the above questions in the Comments Box below.
