My God bag
Matthew 6:25, 33, 34 Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?…But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Years ago I used to worry almost constantly about almost everything in my life. I guess I didn’t realize at the time that was not the best way to go through life. When I discovered God did not want us to go through life with worry, anxiety and fear, I was then baffled about how to go about getting rid of it. How do you change a life time of behavior (even misbehavior) and get it totally out of the way?
Somehow, and I am not sure how, as it was a long time ago, I learned about the ‘God bag’. The idea is to write your worry, fretting, anxiety, fear down, and then drop it in a bag designated to God. He now has it; you are not allowed to snatch it back.
Did that mean the worry wouldn’t try to sneak back in? No, the demon leader would certainly like you to pick up the worry and take it over again. And I did. When it crossed my senses I was picking at the issue again, I would have to forcefully push it from my mind, and loudly say, “NO, Satan. I’ve already handed that to God. He’s got this. Back away and leave me be. That issue is not my concern any longer. It will be all right. Now scat!” And he would go, along with an immediate release of the worry and tension.
Wonderful! Instant release of worry and tension. (Doesn’t it sound like a great advertisement?!) Yes, the king of lies and deceit would sneak back, and yes, I would have moments of angst and fretting, but within seconds, I would be reminded to hand it back to God. And I would, as well as sending Satan off again.
I liked the idea of an actual bag. For a few years I used a bag that came on a set of “tee shirt” material sheets I’d been given. However, when a friend was cleaning out cabinets and found a couple of extra flannel navy blue bags with gold trim and the words Crown Royal imprinted on them, I loved the idea that these royalty-looking bags could be used for my God bag. What could be higher than the highest Crown Royal, my loving, and giving King and Creator?
But to me, the most important thing is mentally handing over my worries and concerns to my Creator. Now, it is far easier to do than it used to be—and I can do it most of the time without actually writing and dropping it into the bag. But occasionally something is of great concern, and my mind does not want to let go, and I have to actually write it and drop it. And it is handed over. I no longer worry. He’s got this…after all He’s got the whole world in His Hands!
My life has gotten so much less stressful and burdensome since. And it’s helped me to thoroughly enjoy mybellaviews.
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