F R E E D O M--one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Galatians 5:1, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
Christ has set us free!
We have our ultimate freedom in the salvation of Jesus Christ! We are set free in Jesus Christ and the complete work He did on the cross to justify and pay the price for our sins. There can still be areas where we sit in bondage though we have been given freedom.
God Wants our Freedom! Freedom is Possible!
One quote from The Wellness Revelation is that "God knows you want freedom, and He wants your freedom even more than you." I love thinking on this and encouraging people to be mindful of this. In those areas where we feel stuck or we think change is not possible or freedom is not possible, the truth is that God wants us to be free and to walk in that freedom.
God does want our freedom so much He sent Jesus to die for it! It is FOR freedom that Christ has set us free. So, we are to stand firm and not submit again to yokes of slavery. When we have those areas that we are not free, we must believe and know that we are not meant to live in bondage. We are not meant to have a yoke of slavery.
We Stay in Bondage Because of Comfort
There is a quote from Jennie Allen helps elaborate on this thought and also helps us to see how we chose bondage and to stay in shackles and chains when we have already been set free. All we have to do is walk in that freedom. This quote is found in both of her books: Restless and Made for This.
“Some of us have decorated our prison walls so beautifully that we have forgotten that we’re sitting in a cell, wasting our lives. We don’t know there are chains that, though they no longer bind us, still tangle us up. We sit and listen to talks or read books about God, and we wonder why nothing changes when we so desperately want it to. We forget that we have access to the exit door of that cell.”I learned so much from both of these books and talk about them here also.
We have been set free. When we think about this quote, we know the ridiculousness of someone sitting around in a prison cell when they have been set free. Yet, we do the same thing. We get comfortable in our bondage. It is what we know. It is familiar. A lot of times, it has been a struggle we have been dealing with all of our lives. We do well and dress it up, justify it, and try to make it as "good as it can be." All the while, it is a yoke and a bondage we are not supposed to be bound to.
Let's Get Unstuck!!!
We can get stuck, but God has given us some great tools to get free and stay free. Some of the best are the Word of God, church, prayer, community, and other helps that are so very good. If you have areas of which you are bound to that you are not meant to be, get free!!! Pray and ask God to lead you in that. Read the Word. Find community that can come along side you and support you. Find good tools and resources that speak specifically about your area of bondage. Jennie Allen (she is such a great resource to go to when seeking to get unstuck!) has a great podcast about "being stuck." Check it out! She shares such good truth, encouragement, tools, and ideas of how to get out of it!
May We Set Others Free!
Harriet Tubman longed for her freedom. She traveled by foot 90 miles to get to a land of freedom, and when she got there, it was glorious and so very good! She loved it. I love that she did not just stay comfortable in her freedom. She did gain that freedom. She stayed free...but she risked her life to set others free. Over the years, she ushered over 300 other slaves into freedom. She is such a hero, and I love what I learn fro her life.
We have a handful of biographies on Black People, but this is THE BEST! Short little readable stories! Great questions to think through. I love the scripture and challenge from God’s Word! Even if you don’t have kids, I recommend reading it own your own! I personally love reading good biographies for kids--not just for my kids, but FOR me! They are short. They are easy to read. They still share the good story! This is one of the best I've seen so far.
Get Free. Stay Free. Set Others Free!!!
Praise God our salvation in Christ—true freedom that can never be taken away from us!
You know that I love Revelation Wellness...and their mission is
“Get Free. Stay free. Set others free!!!”
Let’s tie all this freedom in all together!!!
May we get free in other areas that are holding us back...those areas where it is like we are sitting in bondage in prison cells “wasting our lives” (like Jennie Allen quote). May it just not be so. May we get free and stay free!!! We will have to fight and walk by the Holy Spirit!
And, then, like Harriett Tubman, may we not just stay in our “free land” and have a little free party, but may we even risk our lives, get uncomfortable, and do hard things to fight for others’ freedom too!
Short Strength Workout!
I would love to share a short strength workout with you when I talked a little about this message. You can also do the "work" part 2 times and have a great full-body 25 minute workout!
Strengthen your body! Get after freedom! Stay free!
And all the while, may we get radical, bold, and passionate to set others free too!