Have you ever felt so bound up by something that you almost physically couldn’t breathe? There are so many things in this world that fight for our attention and affection. They claw and they clamor and they scream at us from every direction.

I had a conversation with a young woman not too long ago. We were talking about purity and morals and boundaries and all the things. She shared how hard a life of purity is in this culture and specifically in her relationship with her boyfriend. I have been blessed to have sat under amazing leadership when it comes to purity, so I told her she needed to evaluate how important her purity was to her. I asked her how much she wanted it and what she was willing to sacrifice for it.

And of course, as the Holy Spirit does, He asked me that same question. Not only about purity but about everything in my life. Where in my life have I not really wanted freedom? What areas of my life have I not been willing to make sacrifices for?

My thought life has always been a struggle for me. I tend to think and overthink and analyze and re-analyze. Much of that thinking is fixated on subtle lies I have told myself, lies other people have spoken over me or what the enemy has whispered. Those lies easily send me into a shame spiral, and anxiety and depression are usually not far behind.

We, as believers, are always in some sort of fight. We fight against the enemy. We fight against our flesh. We even fight against other people. The most important fight we are called to is the good fight of faith. We are not to fight for faith but out of faith. Because then, it really isn’t even us doing all of the fighting because it is God who fights for us.

I began thinking about how easily we become slaves to bondage. It could be anything from our thought patterns to sin cycles to full-blown addictions. It could be our circumstances or expectations or our disappointments that we can become slaves to. The enemy loves nothing more than to see God’s beloved children chained and never walking in freedom.

As we all know, freedom is not free. It comes at a price. More often than not, that price is a high one. With our free will, we get to decide whether or not to pay that price, and that price looks different for everyone. But as one of my favorite verses says,

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17 (CSB)

Have you every really thought about that? Where exactly is the Lord, and where is this freedom? He is Spirit, and He is omnipresent. He is everywhere. He is above and below. He goes before us and follows behind. He walks alongside us. He inhabits the praises of His people. And on this side of the Cross, His Spirit dwells within us.

So, where His Spirit is, there is freedom, which means there is freedom everywhere, all around us. There is freedom living and at work inside of us. When we are enslaved to something, we are fighting that very freedom Christ died to give us.

For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1 (CSB)

Christ died to set us free from our sin, our shame, our guilt, and our lack. He broke the chains of death and hell. This verse in Galatians tells us not to submit to a yoke of slavery. We are not to submit to what Jesus died to set us free from. If you’re like me, I choose to submit more often than I care to admit.

Honestly, our sin and struggles can satisfy us for a time. They grow familiar and comfortable. Often, they even become our identities, and we don’t know who we are without them. But that is not the life Christ died for. He died for us to have life and life abundant.

He sets us forever free from our sin by His blood, and that blood sets us free for life and freedom in Him.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36 (NIV)

The right perspectives and choosing what leads us to freedom doesn’t just happen. It is first a move of the Holy Spirit. We yield to His desires and His leading. Then, we decide to walk in His power and choose differently than our normal habits. For me, I have to slow down and let God show me where I am not believing truth. I get to choose to intentionally speak truth over my life and my circumstances. I get to choose to walk in hope and joy and peace.

Sometimes, I am unable to choose. Sometimes, I run in the opposite direction of freedom. But the Lord so kindly surrounds me with amazing friends who remind me what I am fighting for and Who fights for me. They remind me which direction leads to freedom. They remind me that every battle has already been won by Christ. They speak His truth and promises into my spirit. They pray prayers of unwavering faith. They remind me who I am and Whose I am.

There is indeed a fight for freedom, but we never fight it alone. His freedom is sweet and kind and awaiting us on the other side of our sacrifice and fight.

In what area of your life are you fighting for freedom?
I’d love to pray for you!

 

As believers, there is indeed a fight for freedom, but we never fight it alone. -@karina268: Click To Tweet Leave a Comment