For Freedom

 

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves again be burdened by a yoke of slavery.

~Galatians 5:1

 

 

I am bad at letting my worries go. It can be worries about anything really - how on earth I'm going to get everything done today, God's plans for my future, guilt and fear over a past sin - you name it, I can worry about it. Normally, the way I handle this is by having some sort of a "vent session" (to which current and former roommates can attest) where I lay out all that's on my mind and my heart and proccess through what I'm thinking. As important as it is to have good friends that we are comfortable being completely honest with, I think that it is also important that we first surrender our worries to the Lord, the only person that can ultimately give us true peace.

 

As I've been trying to really cultivate this practice of surrendering my worries to the Lord first, I've realized that I have a terrible habit: I pick up my worries again. Daily. Which means, if I don't spend some QT with the Lord every day and resurrender my worries to Him again, I am not practically living in the freedom and rest that the Lord has given me. Instead of trusting in the Lord, I rely on myself and my own plans, letting myself become a slave again to the fears that will inevitably arise when one trusts an imperfect, sinful being to be in charge of their lives. I find that I need to honestly ask myself daily: Am I really living in the freedom that Christ has given me today?



 

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

~Romans 8:12-17

 

 

I love these verses. So often, I need to be reminded that I am the Lord's covered, clean, and purified daughter, and that He cherishes me and watches over my every move. I find that if I really, faithfully believe that, it is impossible for me to become a slave to fear again. The problem arises from my short term memory, and the easy at which I forget the profound truth that I am an heir of God, with His same promised inheritance.

 

So if you are at all like me, I want to remind you that if the Lord is your savior, you are an heir of God, and you are completely free in Him in this instant. I pray for all of us, that the Lord would work in our hearts to let us live out and feel the reality of that truth in our lives today!