There’s something I’ve been meaning to show you for a while.  At first, I was afraid you’d get the wrong idea. But the journey God sent us on wasn’t just about us and Him, it was about you too.  So I want you to see this.

Ready?

This is everything our family of seven owned during our three months in Israel. Diapers. Toys. Clothes. Books. Rocks. Shells. Everything. (We lived like this partly because we needed to be able to carry everything and board public transportation quickly and safely with five young children, and partly because we felt God wanted us to).

Before you jump to conclusions, I’m not bragging or trying to make you feel guilty.  I’m not advocating a race to the bottom where we compete to see who’s the most deprived.

I’m showing you this because it’s one of the good things God did in our hearts.

Each time we pared down our possessions, it felt like part of me was being surgically removed.  Leaving behind things that were precious, that made life easy or comfortable or beautiful, was painful.

And holy.

It’s easy to let our stuff define us. And by stuff I mean the dysfunctional “baggage” we carry, but also the good stuff.  The things that really do make life better. Since everything we have comes from God, we need to be ready to yield it when He asks.

If we can’t let go of something, it owns us, not the other way around. Tweet That

God did more than free us from the tyranny of stuff. We used to talk about God being enough. When everything was gone, we experienced the reality that He was enough.

He also showed our family that we had an identity apart from our stuff. In fact, we had an identity apart from being that crazy family who got rid of all their stuff.  We’re free to catch…or release.

Which brings us to you. God wants to give you an identity apart from your stuff. He wants to put distance between you and whatever is weighing you down, good and bad.

For most people, this process involves letting go of some physical possessions, but not for the sake of deprivation. It’s all about delight. It’s about Him revealing His heart, and yours.

What is God inviting you to leave behind so you can go forward with Him?