Pack Light
Back Breaking Worship
Do you pack well?
I struggle with packing. I live in under 5 shirts and alternate between two pairs of jeans.
Still, clothes I haven’t worn in months make it into my luggage when it’s time to pack.
“Who knows? Maybe I will need the water shoes after all–Seattle in March can be so unpredictable!”
Hustling through the airport is usually when I recognize I’ve overpacked and overburdened myself.
When you pack, everything seems necessary.
When you travel, everything is heavy.
Overpacking fascinates me because, paradoxically, planning for every contingency makes the journey more frustrating.
The temptation of future safety brings a burden.
This is how idolatry works, not just packing.
We want to be sure we are ready, confident we will be safe, consoled that the future will go our way– so we look for something that can deliver.
This isn’t new.
Isaiah mocked the false gods Bel and Nebo in Isaiah 46.
Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols are borne by beasts of burden.
The images that are carried about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.
Isaiah 46:1–2
The safety of these idols is an illusion, but their weight is real.
Our God is so wonderfully different! He carries and sustains…
3 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
and have carried since you were born.
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:3-4
While false gods break your back, the God of the Bible carries His people from birth through old age.
The Lord carries his people, while people must carry their idols. The contrast should move us to praise!
False gods must be carried and cannot accomplish anything except tiring you out.
With all we have–why are we so hopeless and worried?
Could it be that our souls are being crushed by carrying around so many idols?
We have more of everything, and our souls are breaking under the weight.
Perhaps it is time that we decided to pack less.
How many marriages have to break under the burden of debt before we put down the idols?
How many wonderful little babies could be carried by backs with fewer financial burdens?
What songs might come from people who pack light, choosing full hearts?
After all, our Lord Jesus did warn us, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).
There is One God who can protect you in the future. He will carry you, which frees you to carry far less!
8 “Remember this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.
9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
Isaiah 46:8-10