Letting Go

A year ago, I found myself in a precarious situation. I was transitioning in many ways. I had left my job a few months before, and I was preparing to go to Israel. I was moving from a place of having a steady income to living on support, and I was healing from the wounds of a past failure due to unwise actions on my part. While moving towards the future, I was clinging to the past and refusing to let go of guilt and a hope in my own ability I had held far too long. Finally the LORD visited me, and this is what happened:

I stood before the LORD, and He asked me who or what would I choose. I couldn't hold onto both. It was then that I noticed my hands were closed into tight fist, clutching guilt from the past. It was guilt over things I didn't do right or I didn't put enough into, and areas where I felt I dishonored God. He called me fair. He said I was spotless in righteousness. Not my own righteousness, but in His. I chose Him. I let go of it all and put my arms around my LORD. I held tightly to Him with all my strength and closed my eyes. We began to ascend into the heavens. I opened my eyes to see it all below me. His love transcends it all. When we are found in His love, nothing can come near us, because we are above it all, seated in heavenly places with the God of the Universe. He is King, and in everything, for better or for worse, I will always choose Him. How about you?

Freedom in His Love

God desires for us to be free. All of us have walked in bondage, and many of us still do without understanding to which we have committed ourselves. But, Jesus came that our eyes might be open to this bondage and that we, once knowing the truth of our conditions, might choose a higher way:

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1

You might be taken aback by this statement, but consider the many things you feel drawn to without reason. Think about the habits you have formed that you can’t get rid of. What about the self-afflicting behavior in which you partake while secretly desiring to end the cycle? You don’t have to live that way. So, why do we believe that we do? We come up with so many excuses for our behaviors when we ourselves do not have a right understanding of the reason for our actions. We say, “It’s apart of my personality,” or “it’s how I was raised,” and even, “it’s not that bad if most of my friends are doing it.” All of these might be true, but they are not the final truth. The final truth that trumps our very understanding of true is that Jesus Christ is both Lord and King. How does this apply, you may ask. Well, if our Lord and King decides to set us free from such things that entangle us, then that is the highest truth and way of living: to be free. We are created of mind, body, and soul. All of these can be enslaved, and we have to be willing to submit each of these areas to Jesus that we might be free. If you have an eating disorder, you’ve enslaved your body through a mindset you’ve adopted about what’s acceptable. You may have always battled this eating disorder, but you don’t have to continue in this battle. Jesus won it for you, and He came to proclaim freedom for the captives. Be free in Jesus’ mighty Name. His highest is for you to live in freedom. If you live in mental confusion, you don’t have to live this way. You’ve enslaved your mind to confusion and accepted it as what is normal for you. His highest is for you to live in freedom. Be free in Jesus’ mighty Name. If you grow anxious when you are not in control of a situation, you don’t have to be this way. You have forgotten that God is in control, and you lack trust in Him. His highest is for you to live in freedom. Be free in Jesus’ mighty Name. If you walk around feeling rejected and always trying to live up to the expectation of others, you don’t have to live this way. God loves you for who you are. His highest is your freedom. Be free in Jesus’ Name. There are many more things to which we enslave ourselves. Some of these things are instilled in us by our parents and others by our peers and the culture around us. Just because it’s widely acceptable does not mean it’s God’s best for us. I’ve found myself battling so many different behaviors and thoughts that I assumed were apart of who I was. The truth is they were apart of who I was, but I am now a new creation in Christ. Those things are no longer apart of me. Even today, Holy Spirit is bringing to my awareness ideologies that I’ve integrated into my person that oppose my true nature in Christ and who He made me to be. They oppose Him. Once I am aware of these things, it is my heart to rid myself of them. Jesus died so I could, and I desire to honor Him with the freedom He lovingly purchased for me. You have been set free. Do not continue to live in anxiety, insecurity, or fear, because it’s normal. You have been set apart. Say yes to the freedom Jesus offers, and don’t turn back. For His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Anything else is sub-par, and it isn’t worthy of who you were created to be. In order to obtain this freedom, look to Jesus. As you catch His gaze, know His love, and be reconciled to God.