Have you ever struggled to live up to expectations that seem impossible to meet? Well, what if I told you that there is a freedom that transcends all these daily concerns—a freedom found in Christ? As someone who is journeying through the confusion and turmoil to find this freedom, I'm excited to unpack this profound concept, drawing from Galatians 5:1.
Our conversation will delve into the transformative power of Christ's love, where we are free from the burdens of our past, condemnation, and even death. Yet, it's not just about freedom from things—it's also about the freedom to do things.
It's a beautiful journey, one that led me to realize that Christianity is not restrictive, but freeing, and I believe it can do the same for you. So, whether you're yearning to break free from old labels or seeking a life that's truly fulfilling, this episode is for you.
Join me on this exploration of freedom in Christ and be empowered to make wise choices that uphold your newfound freedom. Together, let's stand firm in this freedom, centered on God's love, and choose life in the Spirit.
Remember, no matter the struggles, your freedom is always there and the Lord is always with you. So tune in, learn, and prepare to experience the joy of freedom in Christ.
Discipling mothers to disciple generations
Kingdom Mothers Rise Up is here for you. There is encouragement and practical steps to improve your relationship with yourself, God, and your child.
I want to talk to you today about freedom on this episode of the Kingdom Mothers Rise Up podcast. When I think of freedom, i think of Galatians 5.1 that says 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. So it's for freedom that we've been set free. So what does that mean? We've been set free The yokes of slavery, that bondage has been broken, yet we get to choose whether we're burdened by it again or whether we stand firm in the fact that we're free in Christ. So it's for freedom the option to stay free, to not be burdened again that Christ set us free. Yet it's our choice whether we live in that freedom or whether we're burdened again. One of the helpful distinctions for me has always been to realize that there is freedom to do things and there is freedom from things. So we are free to do whatever we want. Truly, we're given free will and we can do whatever we want, but if we're free in Christ, we are now free to live like it. We're free to live by the Spirit. As he goes to talk on well, really the rest of Galatians at the end of chapter five He's talking about the fruit of the Spirit. He's talking about living in the Spirit.
Speaker 1:
In Galatians five and then in Galatians six, he's talking about putting on the armor, which is very much living in the Spirit. And like, this is how you take this stand to stay in freedom. You're putting on the armor instead of putting on the yoke and the burden of the slavery. So you are free to live free. You're free from the old programming and labels. You're free from condemnation. You're free from the consequences not the consequences of your sin. You're free from death, because now death is just a passage onto eternal life with Jesus instead of an eternal consequence of separation from God. So, seeing that, yes, i'm free, i'm free to stay free. So I'm free to choose Do I let people tell me who I am or do I let God tell me who I am? I'm free to define myself as God defines me instead of how it appears that circumstances or culture or family or anything else defines me. But being able to maintain that tells us that we need to stand. We need to stand firm. What are we standing on? We're standing on the love of God. We're standing on His way of being and seeing and doing things which keeps us that, while we have the free will that we can do whatever we want, because to maintain our freedom we need to be lined up with this kingdom and His righteousness Freedom to obey Him, that freedom to follow, actually gives us the freedom from the awful consequences of a life outside of His plan and His will.
Speaker 1:
So often people look at Christianity and like as a religion it certainly could be all these restrictions and you can't have any fun and there's just all these things you can't do. But you're actually more free because if you're restraining yourself from doing drugs, lying to people, life of gluttony, like all these different things, you actually have way more freedom to be in pursuit of life that's truly fulfilling and making an impact and all of these things that like, okay, i'm restricted in one way, but now I have so much more freedom. I have the freedom to choose how I treat people. I have the freedom to choose how I let their treatment of me impact me, because I'm grounded and firmly rooted in Christ, which is overwhelming love for me, that there is absolutely nothing that I can do, good or bad, to change His love for me. It doesn't change My ability to receive it, my ability to focus on it, my choice to whether I'm going to align myself with that truth that his love for me does not change And he sees me as the righteousness of Christ. I'm grafted in, i'm seated with Christ in heavenly places.
Speaker 1:
I can choose to align with that truth that the Lord has told me and revealed in Scripture, or I can align with the burden of the yoke of slavery. It's there as an option I can be burdened with. I have to figure this out. I need to know how to do this. I need to keep them happy, all these different things. And now I'm not free because I'm weighed down with all this stuff that I actually have no control over Because they're not my responsibility. So I am free to do my part and do that to the glory of God, but I am free from having to produce the results, having to convince people, having to earn my own way, needing to be perfect, needing to perform. I'm free from all of that because Christ paid for everything.
Speaker 1:
So when I allow those old mindsets or cultural standards or religious standards to tell me that I'm failing and that I'm not good enough, that I need to try harder, i am aligning again with that burden and that yoke of slavery. And I don't have to. I am free from that. But I have to make choices that align myself with the freedom that I actually have. And I'm preaching to the choir here too, like I am not lecturing you on your shortcomings, like the Lord has been working with me on receiving his love and just resting in how much he loves me And how. Like none of the results for how my relationships turn out, how my business is going, how many people hear my podcast Like none of that is on me. I just need to be close to him and let him love me And out of that will flow the connections that I need to have and the provision that I need to have and the ability to stand in my freedom. And I lose sight of that, and part of that, i think, is hormonal, and so I'm going to be addressing that.
Speaker 1:
But I'm always in charge. Even if there is formal stuff going on, i'm still in charge of what I'm thinking and what I'm focusing on. Am I focusing on what the Father said is true, or am I focusing on my circumstances or my feelings? And if you've listened to me for any time, you know that I want you to listen to your feelings, but I don't want you to let your feelings define you and tell you who you are, or let your feelings tell you what your life is about. Listening to my feelings is good because it lets me know if things are off or if there's things to celebrate and things to have gratitude for.
Speaker 1:
If I notice that I'm feeling discouraged and I allow that to tell me that things are discouraging or that I am failing, that I'm not actually listening to my emotions properly, because the emotion is discouragement, the thoughts. So I'm not taking the time to discern from my thoughts and my feelings. The feeling is discouragement, the thoughts are that I'm failing, this is hopeless, it's never going to get any better, i can't do this. Whatever all those thoughts are, which are mostly lies from the enemy, and I shouldn't be entertaining for a moment, much less partnering with them and allowing them to grow the feelings of inadequacy and being stuck and all of that stuff. So, like I say, i'm preaching to myself here as well. I am walking this out of. How do I stand firm and not partner again with that yoke of slavery and I'm far better at it than I used to be When these things would hit of feeling discouraged and overwhelmed and just failing at everything.
Speaker 1:
I would live there for months I probably really lived there for years with just like little glimpses of I think I'm doing okay.
Speaker 1:
But now, whereas pretty much like I am doing well, i am growing, i'm leaning into the Father, i'm trusting what He says, i'm seeing what I'm feeling and I'm seeing what the thoughts are that are attached to those feelings so that I can make wise choices that are standing in the freedom that Christ paid for.
Speaker 1:
And then there's times where, like it feels like just you know, life attacks all at once and probably some enemy attacks in there, and kind of get blindsided and spun back into that again of like, oh no, nothing's really changed and I can't do this, but it doesn't, i don't fall as deep and it doesn't last as long. And so I want to give you that for encouragement that it's not you're going to figure these things out and it's never going to happen again, but it will happen less and less often. It will be less and less intense. Your freedom is always there. Learning to partner with that freedom, learning to stand in that freedom, takes time and the Lord is okay with that because He wants us to be in that relationship with Him always, and sometimes when we're struggling, we do a better job of staying connected to Him than when we're not, so He's really fine with us struggling because He wants that connection. So I would love to hear your thoughts about freedom.