There are many things that can hold you back from living the life of freedom that God has for you.
Whether it be trials, temptations, addictions, habits, sin, fear, sickness, depression, anxiety, hurt, unforgiveness, things from your past that have hurt and traumatized you, generational things etc but God wants you to be free from all of these things
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Last week I had the privilege of sharing at our Sunday evening Church service as part of a series that we are doing on the Lord’s Prayer.
I was asked to speak about Matthew 6:13 “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” – The Walk to Freedom
This week’s blog is an excerpt of my notes from that message. If you are struggling in a particular area of your life then I know these tips will help to bring you freedom as you meditate on them and on God this week.
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God wants you to be free from everything and anything that has a hold over your life and is holding you back from the complete freedom that Jesus Christ paid for you when he died on the cross.
Jesus taught us to pray and ask God to deliver us from these things but it is important to understand that this is not a passive prayer. We don’t just pray the prayer and sit back and hope for the best.
“The walk to freedom” is a walk; it is a journey. God can and does set people free in an instant but for most of us there is a journey; a continual walk of faith from one level of freedom to the next.
So here are my 7 tips to help you on your walk to freedom.
As you read through the points you may recognize where you are along the path to freedom. Don’t stay where you are. Don’t give up hope. Keep walking toward freedom.
Philippians 1:6 says that God will complete the good work he has begun in you.
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- Know and believe that God wants you to be free
A friend of mine once shared with me how she suffered from anxiety and panic attacks all her life. When I said to her “you know that’s not what God wants for you. He wants you to be free from that”, it was such a surprise to her. She had never heard that before and it had never occurred to her that she could be free and that is what God wanted for her.
So it may sound obvious but the very first thing that you need to know and believe is that God wants you free.
One of my favorite verses in the bible is Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ set us free”. And that’s what it means. He set you free to be free.
The bible also says in John 10:10 “The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy but Jesus said I have come to give you life and life more abundantly”.
God wants you to be free. Not only that, but he doesn’t want you to spend the rest of your life struggling to find your freedom. He wants you to have it now.
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- Acknowledge and accept you need freedom – “Own it”
Again this might sound obvious but we all have known someone who has not been able to see a problem area in their life. A classic example is someone with a drinking problem who says “I don’t have a problem” or “I can stop whenever I want”.
Another example is someone who has depression and it is affecting their life but they say “oh I’m alright”.
It can be much easier to see when someone else has a habit or a problem or an unresolved issue that stops them from living the life of freedom that God wants for them.
It is not always so easy to see it in ourselves so it is a good thing to do a regular health check on your natural and spiritual life. Ask God to show you if there are things in your life that you need to be free from.
You will never be free from something that you don’t acknowledge is a problem for you.
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- Once you have recognized you need freedom and “owned it”, then it’s time to “disown it”. Decide you are going to be free
You have to decide you are going to be free – not just that you want to be free – but that you are going to be free. There is a big difference.
Want is not an action word. Want is a dream. Wants says I hope I’ll be free one day.
You have to decide that you are going to be free. It might seem impossible, you might say I don’t know how this can happen but I am determined I am going to be free. I am not going to live with this thing any longer.
This is not just positive thinking and self-help talk. I have absolutely no doubt that I am free from depression because of the grace and power of God.
The bible says faith without works is dead (James 2:26). It’s not enough to know that God can set you free. You have to decide you are going to be free; that you are going to walk in the freedom that Christ died for. You won’t entertain any other possibility. That is called faith.
Faith and patience inherit the promise (Hebrews 6:12)
It is also really important that you stop identifying yourself with the problem. Don’t spend the rest of your life saying “well I’m just an anxious person; that’s who I am; it’s how I’m wired”, because it is not who you are.
You and that thing (whatever is holding you back from freedom) are not one entity – no matter how long you have had the problem. It is not who you are. Don’t own that thing!
This is what I wrote in my journal after realizing I was suffering from depression but then deciding that it was not going to be a part of my future and I urge you to write something similar for yourself and then pray it every day.
Depression is not my name
It is not my label
It is not who I am
It will not define me
It will not determine my destiny
It is not my crutch or my excuse
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- Know your trigger points and “don’t go there”
When I was walking my journey to freedom from depression, I learnt that I needed to know what my trigger points were; what thoughts caused me to spiral down into depression. I had to know what they were and then proactively choose not to go there. No matter how hard it was and no matter how much it hurt.
The same applies if you need freedom from an area of sin or temptation. Don’t go there. In 1 Corinthians 6:18 the apostle Paul says flee from temptation.
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- There is no magic wand. There are no short cuts
Nothing replaces the time you spend seeking God. It is the only way to freedom. There are not many paths to freedom. There is one path. Jesus said I am the way. Actively seek him.
Set aside time every day to be with God in prayer, meditation and bible reading.
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- Immerse yourself in God, prayer, worship, bible reading, church, anything that builds faith in your heart, connection with other believers etc and separate yourself from the things that take you off the freedom pathway.
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- Pray for a revelation that God is with you, God is for you, God is in you
God is with you – and He promises never to leave you or forsake you. God is for you – and if God is for you who or what can be against you (Romans 8:31) but most of all God is in you. You have the power living within you to overcome all things!
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