Breaking Spiritual Bondages and Stepping into Freedom
written by: Austin Braddock
Do you ever feel like you are in bondage? Like there is something holding you back in your walk with Christ? Are the habits in your life that act like spiritual chains holding you back from walking freely with Christ? Ever feel like you are sitting in a dungeon of loneliness, sadness, and hopelessness?
There have been days that the above paragraph would have described me beautifully. Today, though, I stand free flying like an eagle in the air with God. Obviously, I’m not literally flying in their air, but in my soul I feel free as an eagle, because Christ as has set me free from those feelings of being in bondage, regret, and remorse. There was one day I discovered life, hope, and true happiness, when I discovered Galatians 5:1, which says, “It is for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Sinful habits cause Christians like you and me to be under a yoke of slavery, separating us from freedom.
It’s time to be free in Christ and live the life He gave us. John 10:10-11 says, “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life, and life abundantly.” I realized that my sin was robbing me of being free in Christ and living my life fruitfully and abundantly. Abundantly: meaning with a purpose, full of blessing (but not necessarily riches). My personal translation of this is Jesus wants us to live abundantly internally, possessing the joy of the Lord, regardless of what our outside circumstances look like.
So, how do we get this freedom that the writer of Galatians talks about? James 5:15 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Confessing bondages to one another allows you to become free, because you have exposed the darkness to light, allowing God, our heavenly Father, to free you. And there’s beauty in freedom from ungodly habits, brokenness, sorrow, loneliness, and other habits that Christ desires to set you free from. A scary revelation I received is this: Christ sets us free by dying for our sins; Him dying on the cross was not His worst day. His worst day will be when He has to say “depart from me, I never knew you,” just because those for whom He died refuse to accept God’s freedom and grace. Will you take a few minutes today, and allow God’s grace to set you free? Surrendering and repenting of our sinful desires and our pride to accept the mercy of Christ, let us all soar freely in Christ like eagles, because at OKWU, we are all Eagles.
