Stay in Freedom

Isn’t freedom great!  We can live where we want, go to school where we want, and work where we want.  We can marry whom we choose.  We can choose how we would like to entertain ourselves and what we want to feed ourselves.  We have so many choices for so many different things.  Freedom gives us the opportunity to choose without there being persecution.  I am not saying that there aren’t times when negative things happen, but for the most part, freedom works in our favor.

However, sometimes freedom can be overwhelming.  It often involves you getting out of your comfort zone or leaving behind what feels familiar.  Look at the children of Israel. God brought them out of Egypt and into freedom.  They had to leave behind what was familiar and comfortable to them.  I am not saying that they had a nice life in Egypt, they didn’t, they were in slavery.  Yet they knew what to expect each day and they knew the routine.  It was familiar to them, they had become comfortable with it.  For many of them it was the only land they knew and they only knew the routine of the life of a slave.  So being brought out into the wilderness, although they were free, was very uncomfortable, overwhelming, and daunting.  There was a lot of uncertainty involved.  How would they find food?  Where would they find shelter? What do they do about the tribes in the various cities ahead of them that would come against them?  These all would seem like silly questions to us because God had just performed numerous miracles on their behalf to show them that He had not forgotten about them, and to set them free.  He had performed more miracles when Pharaoh came after them by parting the Red Sea and then drowning the Egyptian army.  He provided light and shade as they traveled.  How many more signs did God need to show that He was on their side and would provide a way for them?

It’s so easy to see, right?!?!?!?!

Now look at yourself.

·         So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. -John 8:36

·         Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. – 2 Corinthians 3:17

God set you free as well.  He set you free from low self-esteem, from depression, from unforgiveness, and from sin.  He set you free from being a slave to your flesh, your feelings, and from what others think of you. He set you free from your past, from hurts and heartache.  Yet you won’t stay in freedom.  We as humans are often creatures of habit.  We like to be comfortable, we seek what is familiar. The thing is that freedom will often take you outside of your comfort zone.  You must be willing to grow, GROW in your wisdom and knowledge, but also to GROW OUT of the things He brought you from.  You can’t keep going back to the pit you were brought out from.  You are only making yourself a slave to the things behind you.  You have to set your course to the things ahead of you.

The Spirit of God lives inside of you.  You were meant to dwell in freedom.  When you go back to the former things, it may feel comfortable for a short amount of time, but chaos will ensue because you are giving into the desires of your flesh. You are taking God off the throne of your life and putting yourself there.  Where God was your provision and helper before, now you have to do it all on your own.  You probably could do it, for a short time.  There are yokes that you aren’t meant to handle and there are battles that you aren’t meant to fight. Being in freedom with God also means allowing yourself to sit back and letting Him work things out.  You don’t have to be in constant control of everything, you don’t have the ability anyway.

Just like with the freedom we enjoy in our daily earthly lives here in the U.S., spiritual freedom isn’t free either. It is going to cost you something.  Sometimes it will cost you people, as everyone you know won’t be able to walk in freedom with you. Sometimes it will cost you problems.  There will be things you will have to face in order to build your character. It will cost you pride.  You can’t be prideful and enjoy the freedom that God gives.  His freedom requires you to be humble.

Yet, it will also grow your faith, grow your stature in Christ, and empower you to serve in His kingdom.