Baggage from our past can hide under the surface. How can we uncover it?

Nancy Alcorn names several symptoms of emotional baggage in her book, Ditch the Baggage, Change Your Life. This list included self-hatred, manipulation, a sharp tongue, a critical attitude, a distrust of authority and more.  Why is this list important, and what can we do with the things we identify with?

Nancy urges us to look for connections and conflations in the list – these symptoms rarely operate in isolation. In Nancy’s own experience, she battled with body image issues and insecurities which was tied to a strong need for control.

“As a Christian during college, I struggled with a severe eating disorder. There was such a need to control. I would even try to control where I would eat, how often I would eat… any time anybody would mention going out [for a meal], I would freak out.”

Nancy felt like a hypocrite.

“Here I am, a Christian, and I’m preaching freedom to everybody else and I’m living in this awful bondage. I knew that the only hope was to cry out to God and I had to surrender.”

Nancy sought healing through fasting, prayer, and community, and God healed her. He showed her the past lies she’d been believing and replaced them with God’s Word.

The danger of past baggage is that Satan might use it against us.

“It’s just amazing how one little thing can be something in your life that can cause so much baggage.  When you dwell on one thing, it leads to the next and next and the next.”

Only through reading, speaking, and believing God’s truth can we find true healing.

Nancy now leads a ministry for young girls based in Tennessee called Mercy. She helps them find peace and hope through the Gospel message and by knowing God’s truth through the Scripture. Whether we’ve dealt with addictions, divorce, sexual abuse, self-harm or friendship challenges, God is ready to bring healing. We just have to drop the baggage.

Key Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:11

Featured Songs: We Will Not Be Shaken by Bethel Music; You Alone by North Point; Blameless by Dara Maclean

Highlight : Signs of emotional baggage

Dropping your baggage