Freedom

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“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:31-32

“Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ...But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:25, 33

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

“Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1

“There is, therefore, now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1

Some of you who have recently given your life to Jesus possibly felt a “weight” come off of your shoulders. You may have even started to cry or laugh as freedom came. Some of you might even feel like you can breathe now or see colors differently.  

All of these things and many more have been shared by others upon their salvation moment because they came to Jesus, and He set them free from any bondage they were carrying. This happens because when you come to Christ Jesus, you come to Him instead of to some coping mechanism to fill the void in your heart. 

As Scripture says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). 

You might have felt nothing in your born again moment, but that doesn’t negate the truth that Jesus set you free and took the weight of sin off of your shoulder. You are no longer living and carrying the impact of sin in your life. Jesus has set you free. You are no longer bound. You are free, and you can continue to live in freedom through knowing the truth of Christ. All of your life you have been told lies about who you are, and now you have a solid foundation of truth in Jesus that sets you free from yourself. 

The things of the world—fear, worry, guilt, condemnation, and shame—are things that you no longer have to live with in this life. You can live fearlessly, worry-free, shame-free, guilt-free, and condemned-free because of this new life. There are opportunities to yield yourself to these realities because of the weakness of your flesh, but the truth is that Jesus has delivered you from all of these things. 

Jesus' love casts out fear. You can trust God for provision as He is faithful as you seek Him first and His righteousness. He takes away the impact of guilt, condemnation, and shame because of His grace and mercy. 

If you find yourself yielding to sin, then you can repent. Repentance means to turn around from the path that you are on. A 180-degree turn-around. This happened when you gave your life to Christ. 

Yet occasionally, as a follower of Christ, we choose our flesh instead of the Spirit, and we need to turn back, away from sin, and follow Jesus. You can break agreement to the fear, worry, lust, addiction, control, or whatever the sin and allow the Lord to speak truth to you so you can live in the freedom that God has for you.  

You must learn to be quick to repent of any sin that you might find yourself stumbling into, as the impact of sin is always death and places a weight on you that isn’t for you to carry. “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

Forgiveness 

You have received the forgiveness and removal of sin through Jesus. “The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). 

You can now forgive others. There are people who have possibly wronged you, but because you have received forgiveness from Jesus, you can now forgive them. ​​​​”Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (Luke 7:47). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you can forgive the worst of sinners who have sinned against you, because you have been forgiven. 

If you are yielding to unforgiveness, you are yielding to bondage, yet you are free through Christ. This doesn’t mean that you will have reconciliation with a certain relationship, but you can release them, and you can be free of the bondage and bitterness found in not forgiving others. You can implement forgiveness your walk with Christ in the days ahead.  

Prayer: 

“Thank You, Jesus, that you set me free from the weight of sin. I come to You today and every day as my Source of life. Thank You for the freedom found in You. Jesus, I break agreement to fear, worry, guilt, shame, and condemnation, and I receive Your freedom. God, give me the grace to forgive those who have wronged me, and I forgive them today. Amen.”