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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. Galatians 5:1
We are free because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those who are Christ-followers hold this truth as the foundation of our faith and the motivation for all that we say and do. Our faith is based solely on Jesus Christ.
The entire book of Galatians can be summed up in one word. Freedom. Grace gives us the freedom we need to face the sometimes seemingly insurmountable obstacles in our way on this journey we call life.
Along with those obstacles come intentional or unintentional attempts by the enemy to rip the freedom we have in Jesus from our hands. He is a cunning enemy. He uses circumstances, people and even religion to try to enslave us. When it works we can find ourselves in more bondage than we were in before we came to Jesus.
Paul gives us a two word battle plan to protect our freedom. He tells the Galatian Church, and us, to STAND FIRM! That’s it. Stand. And while you are standing, stand firm. Immovable. Resolute. Unwavering.
Normally we think of defending our freedom in terms of warfare. It’s either fight or flight. We fight like a cornered animal if need be and run like a scared rabbit if necessary. As Christ followers all we need to do is stand. Jesus fought the battle on the cross and in the grave. He won! It’s over. Signed, sealed and delivered. Done. Period.
Standing isn’t normally considered a position of warfare. But standing in the face of adversity takes courage, strength and trust. A story is told of a neighborhood bully known to pick on dogs in the area. The ‘bully’ was a big old tomcat. In his wisdom he’d learned that dogs could only go as far as their chain or fence would allow them to come. He would walk just outside the perimeter of the chain or fence and stand. The dogs would come running until they reached the ‘end of their rope’ and come to a sudden, painful stop. The tomcat simply stood because he knew he was in no danger.
As Christ-followers we can stand in the face of adversity because we know we are free. We stand outside the perimeter of the enemy. He can’t hurt us any longer. We can trust our Savior to see us through and protect us.
Ask the Father to help you stand firm in the battle before you. Develop the faith-muscle you need to be unwavering using the PAS method.
P – Pray. The single most formidable weapon we have as Christ-followers is to pray. God is there and wants to hear your heart.
A– Accountability. Surround yourselves with people who are truly interested in encouraging your gifts, building you up and guiding you according to God’s word. Religion enslaves you. Relationship with Jesus frees you.
S – Scripture. God’s word is His letter to you. In it he holds the keys to how you can stand firm in Him. Read it daily. Study it with your accountability group. Take it with you into battle as you would a shield and weapon. It is not outdated. It is relevant for today.
PRAYER: Holy Father, I thank you for the freedom I have in Jesus Christ. I pray that you would remove the guilt and shame of past mistakes. I invite your Holy Spirit to enter into my life and guide, protect and strengthen me to stand in the midst of the obstacles that are before me. Empower me to stand firm in You. Amen.
My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. Psalm 38:4
Next to anger, guilt is perhaps the greatest crippler of all time. When you consider the fact that fear can often be caused by guilt that only adds to the drama! Guilt comes into our lives when we feel ashamed for an action that we’ve done. Sometimes that guilt is ‘warranted’ because we all make mistakes. Sometimes that guilt comes from the accusations of others. Even if we are innocent of the accusation we can feel guilty about it.
People try to deal with guilt in a variety of ways in order to ease the pain. Some try to ignore the guilt and pretend that whatever it is that makes us feel guilty never really happened. That’s called denial. If I ignore my guilt long enough it will be less painful. That’s not really true, but we believe the lie. Suppressing guilt only keeps it at bay for a time. Eventually it comes back with vengeance.
Others try to deal with guilt by soothing it with a variety of things like new relationships, new toys, new jobs or surroundings. We focus on external things in order to try to ignore the internal pain we feel. When we tire of the old things we simply replace them with new in hopes that we will be satisfied. Using denial and external things to try to cover up guilt never work.
Sometimes people use the ‘blame game’ to deal with their guilt. “Yes, I did that but if he/she hadn’t done this, or if she/he HAD done that, I wouldn’t have done what I did.” Placing blame on others takes the attention off of me and puts it on others. It’s like creating a diversion. The problem with this is that people eventually see though our antics and we end up being the only one that believes our story. People who use the blame game seldom realize that they are the main problem in the healing process.
Following ‘social trends’ rather than God’s Word can also be used to cover guilt. “Everyone else is doing it so it must be okay.” We surround ourselves with people who, like us, haven’t dealt with their guilt. Since they appear to be comfortable in what they do we feel comfortable as well. There is sort of a comfort in mutual misery.
Even religion can be used to cover guilt. We do something wrong and go to God for forgiveness. He willingly forgives us of all our sins. However, we feel so bad about what we have done that we try to do ‘things’ to cover the pain. These can be very good things like church attendance, Bible Studies, volunteering, even being in ministry to try to cover the shame and guilt of our sin. When we struggle with a recurring sin we tend to increase our ‘religious activity’ to deal with the pain. Nothing relieves that pain though and so we revert to the blame game. “It’s not working. It must be Gods fault, or the churches fault, or the fault of those so-called Christians.”
There is nothing you can do to free yourself of the weight of guilt you carry. The longer you carry it the heavier it grows. The more things you try to remove the guilt from your life the heavier your burden grows. The more you regret the more you fret. Sometimes people are so weighed down by the burden of trying to remove the guilt from their lives that they become physically, emotionally or mentally ill. Some even commit suicide to try to remove the pain.
Jesus has the answer to your guilt and the burden you carry. It’s not found in religion. It’s not found in church. It’s not found in relationships, toys or activity. Freedom from guilt comes through Jesus alone and the grace He offers. Hebrews 10:22 says “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
Jesus not only cleanses the sin, he wants to cleanse the feelings of guilt you carry. Satan and others will want to try to continually remind you of your past mistakes. Tell them that Jesus took care of that on the cross. When guilt attacks take it directly to Jesus. Let Him remind you that YOU ARE FORGIVEN. No questions. No second thoughts. NO MORE BLAME. Say to yourself, ‘Because of Jesus I am not only forgiven of my sin, I am cleansed of my guilt. I will no longer allow guilt to control me and weigh me down. I AM FREE.’
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I thank you that you look on my heart and not on my actions. I am so sorry for the pain I’ve caused myself, others and you. I’ve made decisions that continue to be hurtful. I continue to struggle with sin. My guilt is ever before me. I ask that once and for all you search my heart and reveal any unconfessed sin. Then I pray that you not only forgive me of my sin, but that you cleanse my guilty conscience. Empower me to live free of guilt regardless of the number of times other people try to remind me of my past. From this day forward I resolve to rely on you to free me from guilt. Amen.
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. Matthew 11:28-29 (NLT)
During the time that Jesus walked on earth Oxen were valuable for the farmer in order to plow and harvest crops. A good Ox was worth its weight in gold. Because of their value it was important that the Oxen were well cared for. One of the ways this was done was to make sure that they wore well-fitted yokes. An Ox or team of Oxen, with a good wooden yoke could pull a plow or wagon all day long because the stress was placed on the yoke, not the animal.
There is a legend about Jesus and yokes. Everyone knows that his father was a carpenter and no doubt Jesus also learned the trade before He began His ministry at the age of about 30. The legend states that Jesus was an expert craftsman with wood and His specialty was making wooden yokes.
Although it is probably just a legend, the story paints a beautiful picture of Jesus’ concern for us as we journey through the struggles of life. Jesus didn’t discount that we would encounter struggles and burdens in life. In fact, He promises us that we will see tribulation (or trials) as we walk with Him. Sometimes those trials seem to increase as we grow in our relationship with Christ.
Jesus doesn’t say that He will deliver us from the burdens of life. He does say that He will provide a way for us to endure those trials. When storms come, He provides safe haven. When we seem flooded by adversity He provides higher ground. When grief and sorrow attack, He gives peace that passes understanding.
We often struggle with life because the yoke of human endurance and the “I can do it myself” attitude doesn’t ‘fit us well’. It transfers the stress of the situation onto our shoulders and we bear the weight of worry, doubt, despair and shame.
Jesus says ‘Take my yoke upon you’. The yoke of forgiveness, the yoke of grace, the yoke of love. Feel the gentleness of His touch on your life. When we endure the trials of life our bodies may suffer, but with Jesus we experience rest-rest of the soul!
Other people can make us physically and emotionally uncomfortable. They can attack us with lies and shame and guilt about what we do or our past. People can’t attack our soul unless we choose to wear that yoke. Choose today to put on the yoke of Christ’s forgiveness, grace and love. Burdens will come. Some of them very heavy. But God never intended for us to bear them alone. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus and His Holy Spirit, to give our souls rest.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Thank you for the promise that no matter how hard life gets for me, you are always there. Thank you that your yoke is easy and will allow me to bear the burdens of guilt, shame, worry and doubt that seem to attack me on a regular basis. Teach me to rely on You for rest. In Your name I claim rest for my soul even when my body may be filled with physical and emotional pain. Amen.
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2 Peter 1:4 (NLT)
Rules. No one really likes them. Even when you are the one making the rules you don’t really like them. Rules can be made for many reasons. Some people make rules to protect themselves, to gain power over others, or to stop some issue that they have a personal problem with.
Nations have fallen and lives have been lost because people revolted against the rule makers or the rule makers enforced the rules harshly. Rules, by nature, carry with them the idea that you can’t have freedom and rules at the same time. Ironically, that is a rule in and of itself.
Rules can also be made with our best interest in mind. “Don’t touch a hot stove.” “Look both ways when crossing a street.” “Don’t do drugs.” Good rules. Made with your best interest in mind. No control issues there.
But we still get burned. We still get hit by cars when we run into the street. We still get addicted to drugs. Why? Because the human nature, the voices of the enemy tell us that we are invincible. We go ahead and have the affair because we’ll be careful and not hurt anyone. Speeding this time won’t hurt. Wearing a seat belt when I drive is being a sissy. We make up all sorts of excuses.
But breaking rules really amounts to one thing that none of us really wants to admit. Sin is fun. That’s another lie the enemy tells us and to be honest, he’s right…sort of. There’s something in our human nature, the adventurous side that tells us it’s exciting to live free of rules and that nothing bad will happen to us or others.
Oftentimes, people who proudly flaunt their lives of ‘freedom’ do so to cover up a gaping wound. They try to fill that wound with all sorts of things. Activities, friends, drugs, sex, multiple partners, even good things like working for charities. But they just can’t fill that wound.
The Apostle Peter shows us how to fill the void. The salve that heals our wound isn’t found in ourselves. It isn’t found in anything we see or do in this world. Healing comes through faith in Jesus Christ. The rules, so to speak, that He gives us for daily living aren’t so He can control us. They are there solely for our benefit.
That wound inside yourself can only be filled through forgiveness and faith in Jesus. The old nature, your human side, will still try to draw you back to the old ways. The ways of so-called freedom, but you know that so-called freedom only leads to more pain.
Allow the promises and new life of Christ to empower you to live in true freedom. Freedom from the guilt, the pain, the fear of being caught, the fear of death itself. He promises to empower you through His Spirit to live a full, refreshing, happy life free from the pain of the wound.
PRAYER: God in Heaven. I’ve known about you for a long time. I’ve even given my life to you at one point. But the pain of this wound was too great. I tried to fill it with things that didn’t satisfy and ended up hurting myself and others. Please forgive me for my weakness. Empower me to live for you in freedom. Thank you for your promises of excellence and power in my life. I accept your forgiveness and resolve to live in your power from this day forward. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 