Freedom!

I have been trying to put into words what I’m feeling today for almost an hour. I tried just about everything to pretty it up so that it would read right and wasn’t overly personal but God just reminded me that He called me to transparency in this blog. He told me to just write. So I am and I pray that what is on my heart will minister to you in some way.

I am free today. It’s not because every bill is paid or I am headed on a 2 week vacation. It’s because God sees me. It’s because He loves me enough that He wanted my heart to be whole and my spirit lifted. You see for the last 2 years, I’ve been carrying weights. I’ve been carrying the heartache of church hurt. I’ve been carrying the sadness of lost friendships. I’ve been carrying the worry of family separation. I’ve been carrying the strain of lack. I’ve been carrying the pain of other people’s choices. Some weights I picked up gradually and some were piled on. Some I picked up willingly and some were placed on me. But I carried them. Sometimes I did it well and with a smile on my face and sometimes it showed and it wasn’t always pretty. I kept hearing God say to relinquish control and let Him do it but I just couldn’t. I can’t tell you how many times He showed me Matthew 11:28 – 30. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (NLT) I have read it in every translation and shared it with many but it was always temporary.

Don’t get me wrong, I was still praying and serving but there was a weight in my heart that I had made my constant companion. My praise wasn’t as free as it used to be. I didn’t have a run in my spirit. I had moments of release but it wasn’t true freedom. And then God had enough and so did I. I was tired and the weights were too heavy. God had given me an assignment to do and I was so distracted that I couldn’t hear anything He was saying. All I could hear were the chains clanking together. All of this might sound dramatic but God has me sharing it for a reason. Some of you need to be free. Some of you have been carrying some things that are not yours and it’s time for release. God told me on a Saturday morning that I didn’t have to carry all of those things anymore. He told me that I just needed to focus on Him and He would take each one. And do you know, I felt each one come off? He set me free…really free! I felt John 8:36 in my soul! The Message translation says, “So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through.” Isn’t that good?!

What about you? What have you allowed to weigh you down? Is it family situations? Is it anger or bitterness? Is it unforgiveness? What is it? Because it’s time to move forward from that thing. It’s time to get unstuck and get back to living your life in freedom. It’s time to stop pretending that you haven’t been affected by some hard things in your life and be honest enough to ask God to free you. It’s time for wholeness. It’s time for freedom. It’s time for restoration. God can do what no other can. But here’s the thing, you have to let Him. I pray that you know what it is to jump with joy, run with freedom, and sleep in peace. I pray that you know what it is to have God fill every crack in your heart, take every weight and uplift your very spirit. I pray that you know what it is to walk in your calling without fear, move into your next level without doubt and be your best you without comparison to others. I’m a witness that God is willing and able to do all of those things. To God be the glory for the great things He has done, is doing and will do!

Amen…