New beginnings – Day 1

It was late afternoon when a farmer and his wife passed a hitchhiker, next to the road, carrying a large backpack on his back. The farmer stopped his bakkie and offered the man a lift. He immediately accepted and got onto the back of the bakkie with a relieved smile, before they left.

A few minutes later, the farmer looked into his rear-view mirror to make sure their passenger was okay. To his surprise, the man sat on the back of the bakkie, still carrying his heavy backpack on his back. The farmer stopped again and asked the man why he did not take off the backpack. The passenger replied, “Sir, you already did so much to offer me a lift. I cannot expect your bakkie to carry the extra weight of my backpack too!”

What type of year has the past one been to you? Was it a year filled with highlights (an engagement, a marriage, a new baby in the family or did you perhaps win a trip overseas)? Or was it a year you would rather forget (because a loved one died, you went through a divorce, your business closed down or because you had to spend this past Christmas alone)?

We sometimes become like the passenger on the back of the bakkie when we forget that Jesus died on the cross for us, to take away our baggage (the heartache, sadness, hurt and sins from the past) and to give us an abundant life (John 10:10). We can, therefore, take off our own baggage and trust Him for a better future.

Listen to what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13-14: “… one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.”

What baggage are you carrying with you today? Why don’t you consider removing it off your shoulders? What is past is in the past. Let us look forward with excitement to see what God is about to do in this new year. With Him, this might just be your best year so far! God bless.