2 more days until Dare 19! Wow it’s getting really close now. Today’s song is ‘Drenched in Love’ from the album Victory by Bethel Music.
I love that Christ came so that I could live an abundant life of freedom. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1). No longer slaves to sin or shame. No longer slaves to fear or insecurity. Able to live in the true identity of being a child of God. Sounds great doesn’t it?
But in reality, we find it hard to continually live in that freedom. We all have moments where we fall back into old sinful patterns, fall prey to shame, experience fear (whether rational or irrational) and insecurities that we thought were a thing of the past rear their ugly heads once more.
In Galatians 5:1 we are told to stand firm and not to be burdened by a yoke of slavery. It is a free gift but it requires action. We have to choose day by day to stand firm in the truth that we are free.
The biggest enemies I have encountered to this freedom are shame, insecurity, fear and lack of direction. Shame tells us we are too broken for the God’s love. Insecurity tells us that we are not good enough to step out. Fear tells us that we aren’t capable, that everything will fall apart if we do that thing God is calling us to. Lack of direction keeps us confused, never really moving forwards.
But Jesus came and stoop in the gap so that we are made right with God. These enemies are nothing more than lies designed to stop us from living our best life. The bible is full of truth that will combat the weeds that can stifle the freedom from our lives.
You are Forgiven
We can spend our lives living in condemnation, living in shame, whether we place it on ourselves or it’s placed (or sometimes heaped) on us so unhelpfully by others. We can often feel that we aren’t good enough, that we don’t deserve, punishing ourselves for our screw ups and leaving “that” to someone else (whatever “that” is), until we are better, until we stop messing up.
Yet, the reality is that no one is good enough. Everyone messes up and nobody gets it right all the time. The only person ever to be good enough was Jesus – God himself. And because of his enormous mercy, we get to “wear” his good enough – we live from his perfection.
By sending his son he fixed what we couldn’t fix. He took the punishment, the sin, the shame, so that we no longer have to be distant. We no longer have to shrink away and hide because God’s incredible mercy removed this barrier. We are pure. His blood washes away all sin and sets us free from the power that sin had over us.
No matter how badly we mess up, regardless of the number of times we make the same mistake, if we ask, if we turn back to him then none of that stands in the way of our freedom. We are free to live the life we were always intended to live. Our worthiness no longer depends on our adequacy but his sacrifice.
“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” – Ephesians 1:7 NLT
Jesus is Your Identity
Insecurity is an enemy to freedom which comes from not understanding who we are, not understanding the worth that we have, in Christ and not understanding who we are created to be.
In the Genesis account of creation, where God hung the stars, separated the waters and created everything so intricate and beautiful, he saved the very best until last. You. Created in his very image.
“In the image of God he created them” — Gen 1:27
We were created in the image of the Almighty God! Beautiful, captivating, perfection. We were created to reflect the very image of Him. The glory of a glorious creation – a reflection of our glorious creator. And Adam and Eve felt no insecurity, no self-worth issues at all (Gen 2:25). Eve wasn’t afraid to be herself. She didn’t dislike the way she looked, the way she sounded, the things she was or wasn’t good at. She loved herself, her appearance, her personality, her sense of humour, and she walked around Eden secure and at peace with her God.
But then things changed. Adam and Eve made the decision that who they were was not enough. They wanted more and they wanted to do things their own way. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin entered the world, their identity became distorted. With their sin came insecurity and shame, bringing all its baggage with it. Adam and Eve were afraid to be seen by God—they were ashamed of who they had become and they were no longer secure in their identity.
Insecurity is a powerful force. Satan himself uses insecurity to speak all kinds of lies into our hearts. And he has a way of making us feel less ashamed of our sin, the thing that separates us from God, and more ashamed of ourselves. It’s one of his favourite tactics because when we are insecure, we don’t take hold of our freedom and we are less of a threat to his plans.
But it doesn’t have to be that way – there is a cure! Jesus bore the shame of the whole world on the cross and took it to the grave with Him! He defeated sin and death itself along with it! The victory over insecurity has been won. For good.
Our identity, once again, is being restored to the way he created it to be. You can be exactly who you were created to be. You are a wonder to behold. Nothing excludes us from the freedom the Cross makes available. Our identity has always been and will always be in him.
You are Strong
Fear plays a huge role in standing in the way of our freedom. Fear of failure, fear of humiliation, fear of rejection. Once we have grasped who we are in God, to combat fear we must realise who we have got with us. Deuteronomy 31:6 makes it clear that when we accept Jesus into our hearts, he is always with us, he will never leave us and he will never let us down. We have a consistent, unending, unfailing source of strength and courage.
“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” — Deuteronomy 31:6
1 Corinthians 3:16 says that we are temples of God and that the Spirit of God dwells within us. We carry around God in our very being! The Holy Spirit is the power of God, the power that raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11). He is the one that gives us strength – the spirit of God inside us means that there is nothing that we cannot overcome! Wow!
So how do we “tap in” to this strength? Nehemiah 8:10 tells is that our strength comes from the joy of the Lord, from worshipping in spirit and in truth, in connecting with God in a way that we are unable to do on our own. And we will be “…strengthened with all his glorious power so [we] will have all of the endurance and patience [we] need.” (Col 1:11)
This strength is developed as any physical strength is developed, through working at it, through repetition and through training. Our awareness of the strength that is within us is heightened as our relationship with God is strengthened by always thanking the father (Col 1:12), by praying without ceasing (1 Thes 5:17), by reading God’s word so that it dwells within us (Col 3:16). God’s word is our strength, our defence, our sword (Hebrews 4:12).
It takes patience. It takes persistence. It takes love. Perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18) and God is love. He is our strength. By knowing who we have with us, we can step out with confidence, with boldness able to do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).
You have Hope
The final hurdle to overcome is when we feel that we lack direction or purpose in our lives. Regardless of knowing that we are forgiven, assured of our identity and knowing who we have with us, ultimately if we feel we are wandering aimlessly, with no purpose and no direction, we will never be truly free. We will just end up going round in circles.
But our future is secure. We are eternally safe with him. Forever and ever.
“Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” – Romans 6:4
But it’s not just about where we go when we die. It’s about our future and direction here on Earth as well. This is looking towards the future, our purpose. It’s assurance in the things that have not yet come. God has purpose for every single one of us that he wants us to step into. He came to give us “life and life in abundance” (John 10:10). Life in all its fullness. Here and now.
For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11
When we pray, God promises to listen (Jer 29:12). We can continually come to him and ask him what’s next. It may be something huge, it may be something small. But whatever it is, make sure he guides your steps. Because God’s plans are 100%, no-chance-of-failure, awesome.
Colossians 1:9 teaches us to pray continually for complete knowledge of his will, spiritual wisdom and understanding. If we are obedient, living a God-centred life, a God-pleasing life, then there is a promise that we will bear fruit in everything we do, growing in the knowledge of God, stepping into a God-centred future (Col 1:10). We have an assurance, a hope, that there is more. We have purpose and through purpose comes freedom.
Thank you God that you are good. Thank you that I am so loved by you and that you sent Jesus to give me freedom.
Help me to remember that through the blood Jesus shed I am forgive, I have a new identity in you, I am strong and I have hope.
You are worthy of all the praise and the glory, forever and ever.
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