Living In Freedom
- Melissa Como
- Sep 22, 2016
- 4 min read
No one is immune to the hard turbulent spots along life's path. There are several times when we find ourselves blindsided from unexpected events, often times completely out of our control, which stop us from advancing emotionally, keeping us in constant replay of that event with no hope of escaping. How then are we to ever truly move past the traumatic events of our lives to live in the light and fullness of who we were created to be? How many of us have forfeited our destiny because we were unable to free ourselves and move past the hurt of the event? There is a way to be completely free of the paralyzing pain and emotional wounds, so hold onto to the hope and promise that you were set free and you shall surely live free.
Sometimes from our own decisions, other times from choices outside of our control, an event occurs which emotionally throws us to the bottom of a deep, dark, entrapping pit. When we find ourselves in the pit, barely able to breath, let alone, think or feel rationally, we have a choice to make: stay in this place of distress or begin to climb out. Slowly but surely, we make our way out of the pit, however, we didn't come out alone; we made sure to strap the emotions and memories of the event to our back and carry it out with us. As we try to attempt a run at normalcy, we have the constant reminder of what happened holding us down to barely getting by rather that experiencing the joy of flying in freedom; where we are meant to be.
As time passes and we begin to heal a little more, perhaps now we can begin to see the event in a new light. Perhaps we can set our burden down from time to time in order to catch a short respite from our pain before, once again, picking it back up to carry. There will come a point when we are tired of the crushing weight of the event, make a decision to forgive, laying that burden down once and for all, and walk away from it. At this point we begin to fly in freedom, no longer weighed down, and for the first time in what seems like forever, we experience joy. Though flying, the event still calls to you from below and reminds you of the hurt, pain, loss and injustice to which you quickly experience once again in all too real total memory recall. You remind yourself that you are free, however, the harder you try to distance yourself from that experience, the more you find that you are only circling around and around and around it, unable to fly away from it; it has you tethered. You have been flying with a false sense of freedom and in order to be completely free, you must cut the line.
You cannot fully experience God's blessing or do His work if you are living in that false sense of freedom. The tether which keeps you tied to that specific event has become unknowingly bigger than the forgiveness of the cross and the power of the living God. The only way to cut the tether once and for all is to continually remind ourselves, "How Great Thou Art" and of His magnificence, sacrifice, love and mercy. Once we see Him in His fullness, the event becomes small, forgiveness a necessity and His love for all the reality.
This is not a one-time experience! This will be a continual battle, probably one of the hardest fights you will ever engage in. For most of us, one tether would be a welcomed challenge, because the reality is, many of us find ourselves tethered to multiple events. We must become determined to set ourselves free, breaking those ties which hold us back and living in the reality of, "So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed." (John 8:36) Be very careful though, there is a trap of getting too comfortable with Christ and His love so that we can forget the awesomeness of it and fall right back into the pain and hurt from the past. For example, upon first encounter with the majestic beauty, impressive size and wonder of the mountains we can be overwhelmed by the experience. However, that awe soon shifts to common complacency as we become comfortable with the surrounding area. What was once awe-inspiring has now become all too familiar and no longer impressive. Again, the Israelites were initially humbled and grateful for the guiding pillars of fire and smoke, but how quickly those too became common place and the grumbling began. Lastly, when first loves falls upon us, we are completely consumed with thoughts of that other person and ways to bring them joy. Unfortunately, for many, that love all too quickly turns to taking the once cherished for granted, often inflicting pain upon the very one we were once captivated by. Guard your heart and mind to always reflect the love that the Lord has for you, as well as others.
Once we are aware of the tethers which hold us in that false sense of freedom, we can wage war against them, freeing ourselves permanently. This will then allow us to go wherever the Lord leads us, free to serve Him, and allow us to walk in the fullness of who we are called to be as well as complete the tasks He has prepared in advance for us to do.
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