This is what the Lord says; “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Jeremiah 6:16

It is not uncommon for us to board a plane and take off on a trip with little consideration for what it takes for the plane to fly. On the wall of an air museum, it says that there are four elements of flight: gravity, lift, drag, and power. These same four elements affect us in our spiritual journey. If it were not for the force of gravity, we would never be able to complete our journey. God’s Word provides the force of gravity for our lives in that it keeps us grounded. Lift is the element that enables the flight to take off. In our spiritual life, prayer provides our lift and the Holy Spirit provides our power. There is an element of drag in any flight caused by the size and shape of the plane, as well as the load. Many times in our lives, we have unnecessary baggage that can keep us from actually beginning our journey or hinder us as we move forward. Drag affects the ability for the other three elements to operate.

Often the baggage in our lives that creates drag is our determination to do things our way instead of waiting on God. Too often, we let the past haunt us and the future scare us as we prepare to move forward in our spiritual journey. As we prepare for our spiritual journey, we need to make sure that obstacles are removed that either stand in the way of our believing in Jesus as our Savior or in appropriating the promises of God to our lives.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for Your Word that is my resource for living a godly life. Thank you for Your promise that You hear the prayers of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29) Thank you that the Holy Spirit provides me with power for the journey of life. I pray that You will reveal and remove any unnecessary baggage that I carry around – any bitterness, unforgiveness, hard heartedness – so that I can fly in the promises of Your Word.

In Jesus’ name, Amen