Freedom? I don’t know about you, but I often feel like I still have chains binding me to choices, relationships, behaviors, and situations. The truth is, I may still live with the consequences of those choices and situations, but I live with them as a free person. A person set free by the only One who can free anyone – Jesus Christ. That fact is a game changer.
I recently heard a pastor say this, “In Christ, God doesn’t just forgive sin; He removes its pollution.”
The pollution image stuck with me. I see pollution as having a cumulative impact. It’s not just today’s choice that changed the air quality, it’s choices made over time that make the air thick and hard to breathe. The cumulative impact of my previous choices have the potential to rob my mind of peace, but In Christ I’ve been washed, made clean, and I am no longer condemned.
I’m learning I have a tendency to dwell on the past in unhealthy ways. In a sense, I’ve created mental pollution and invited it to hang around, even though I am no longer condemned. Ugh.
Don’t misunderstand – there are plenty of past circumstances I still live with the consequences of, but how I approach them now is as one who has been set free. Christ removed the guilt, shame and condemnation on the cross. He bought my freedom, including its stain. He gave me His righteousness in return. Whew. Yes! And Amen!
He also gives me His strength to face the lingering impacts of past choices.
This is great news!
Do I live like I believe this everyday?
Not always, but by God’s grace, I’m growing in my understanding of what it looks like to live in His freedom.
Maybe your “pollution” is a wrong done to you – Christ’s freedom covers that! It doesn’t mean the all hurt and pain will disappear. But God. He loves you and gives grace to help you move forward in His freedom and grace, one small step at a time. There is no time limit. He never leaves. He is with you.
Friend, this is my encouragement for you – we get to live free, because Christ has set us free. I’m learning I can address the past through the hope of my future. I can own my stuff – the pollution I’ve created for others, as well as the pollution dumped on me – and then by God’s grace walk forward in Christ’s Freedom.
Repeat this to yourself:
He sees me – right where I am.
He knows every detail of my situation.
He loves me and He will not leave my side.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Cor. 3:17
Bible verses for more insight: Psalm 139:1-3, Proverbs 15:3, John 10:27, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:4, Romans 8:38, Psalm 103:11, Psalm 31:7
You are not alone in the struggle to live free and silence the inner critic. Join a community of women who are learning to rewrite their inner dialogue. Get my twice-monthly Yellow Boots Insight newsletter with tools, stories and reminders you are enough. (Click on “Yellow Boots Insight” for the link.)