Walking in Freedom

Something I am learning a lot about right now is what it means to walk in freedom. Freedom is an easy concept to grasp, yet difficult to walk out. It is so easy for us to assume that the world is out to get us and wallow in our difficult circumstances. For most of my life, rather than choosing to fight, I gave satan the power to manipulate my mind. Not standing up to satan is equivalent to opening the front door and inviting him in. Satan was given one small hopeless thought and he used that to tear me down physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It was not until I was in too deep that I realized what had happened. If I knew that feeding that one quick thought would shake the foundation of my identity, I would not have let it in to begin with. In doing so, I was giving satan the power to define me.

Unlovable. Unworthy. Unintelligent. Unaccomplished. But mostly Alone.

Each lie presented is equivalent to a brick. Satan takes these bricks, or these lies we believe, and begins his work at building a wall between the identity he wants you to have and the identity Christ has given you.  Walking in blindness of your Christ given identity, is you living in the shackles that Jesus Christ has already freed you from. Often we find ourselves choosing to live comfortably in the lies that satan uses to define us. We find it comfortable because it is so hard for us to believe that someone could love us despite where we fall short.

But that is the beauty of our savior.

As a child of God, we are not defined by the slip ups and hopeless thoughts. Freedom is the state of not being restrained. Whether that is restraints from physical sin, or the restraints of the shackles given by each lie we let slip through the door, we are imprisoned. When Christ died on the cross, He took away the sin and shame that we once labeled ourselves with. Christ replaced the chains weighing us down with His unconditional love. When the words, “It is Finished” were spoken, His endless love washed over us. Our freedom was no longer something in the distance but the reality of making the ultimate decision of walking in that freedom.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

– 2 Corinthians 5:17

In Galatians 5, Paul is talking to the people about walking in freedom. He tells them not to pick up the sin and shame they once laid at the foot of the cross. The Galatians were more comfortable in carrying their shame than walking in the freedom that Christ has given them. Confusion was brought forth that made the people uncomfortable. They found comfort in a familiar place that labeled them as slaves.

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

-Galatians 5:1

The Galatians wanted to enter into their old ways because they felt that their shame outweighed the love God has for them. The Lord used Paul to remind them of their freedom. Paul told the people to stand firm and walk in the freedom given. There was nothing expected out of the Galatians other than receiving Christ’s free gift of love.

We, as children of God, are called to walk in freedom. We are called to trust that He already won the battle. We are asked to lay our sin and shame at the feet of Jesus and rest in His victory. Despite failing Him every single day, turning back to slavery, and choosing to live comfortably, He desires for us to walk in freedom with Him. He does not expect us to do it alone, he lovingly guides us through the open door leading us to our Christ given identity. Once walking in that identity, we have the power to choose victory over death in every area of our life. So learn walk in it.