Freedom Fridays

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to Freedom Fridays! Oh, how I love taking these steps towards freedom with Jennifer! Grab your coffee and your strand of faith and let’s go tie some knots in our faith as we learn to walk in freedom!

Freedom Begins…..where?

In my freedom journey I have often prayed for comfort and a release of the tormenting pain and bitterness that was always surrounding me.  Over the last month, I have been challenged by the Lord to identify and deal with that torment.  I started a Bible study on Joseph, one who forgave much, thinking this will help me get free.  While the study is amazing, I found I was looking in the wrong place.

So, you might ask, isn’t praying or studying the Bible the way to freedom?  Absolutely, yes! However, it’s not where it begins.

Freedom begins in our mind.

Let me explain.  When we have been hurt it causes a chain reaction in our mind, will and emotions.  Though we may think our will is the strongest of the three, it is the mind that is the strongest.  That’s why taking every thought captive is a battle (2 Corinthians 10:5).  Did you know that we have been given the mind of Christ? (1 Cor. 2:16). That’s a hard truth to fathom, right?

When we are hurt by something big (or a pile up of medium to small things) we often start “collecting” offenses.  When we do that, we start looking for trouble when maybe there is no trouble.  Sometimes we base our conclusion on past offenses and we feel justified. Often we start heading down an imaginary path and the pain collides with our imagined scenario.  For me, this feels like a mushroom-size cloud type of explosion that gets released upon an innocent bystander or becomes a series of passive/aggressive remarks.  (Sorry – just keeping it real)

Freedom begins in our mind.

When we are able to step back and really pray through what we are “feeling” is happening, often we find that we are collecting offenses in our own imagination.  Here is a scripture that is helping me through this thought process –

Trust in the Lord and do good, then you will live safely in the land and prosper.  Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.  (Psalms 37:3-4)

What this means to me is – don’t worry; stay in today; deal with what is known and give the unknown to God.  This has brought me immeasurable peace and a depth of my freedom I had not known before.  Every time I feel those thoughts rush in, I take them captive and focus on Him.  I need to Let Him sort it out, fight my battles and I need to do the work He has called me to do…follow in His footsteps to Freedom.

What sits in our mind is our choice.  I challenge you to do some mental spring cleaning today.  Do you have a pile of offenses real or imagined?  Are you letting them win in your daily walk?  Sort through them as you would laundry. You may even find you have three piles – give to God, give to God, and give to God.

Walking towards Him who sets me free,

Jennifer