3 Ways to be Free From Your Issues

Jul 25 2016

Photo source: crossroadswaunakee.org

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how I called myself “saved” for so long, yet I still wasn’t free from the cares of this life.

Recently, God took me on this serious journey towards “newness of life” and He told me the result of that journey would be that I would be an unrecognizably new person

Little did I realize how challenging that journey would be. He led me to break up with my boyfriend of two years. It was a mutual break up as we could tell God was drifting us a part to draw us closer to Him.

In the midst of my issues, I realized that although I had accepted Christ, I still wasn’t free.

I was saved, but not free.

I wasn’t free from my emotions. I wasn’t free from misery. And, I wasn’t free from discontentment.

Let me explain.

Look, most of walk around saying we are “saved” and going to heaven simply because we were baptized at ten and go to church every other Sunday. We may have died to our sins, but we still spend way too much time mourning over our problems, we lack consistency, and our issues quickly become our gods.

We are saved, but we aren’t free.

Jesus Christ’s message doesn’t stop at the point where He saved us by dying on the cross. The message continues on as He rose from the dead so that we could be free and have Him live in us!

In other words, we aren’t just required to participate in His death, but also His resurrection, too.

Does your life of salvation stop at the cross?

Yes, you’re dead to your issues. But, have you risen from your issues?

You don’t smoke, drink, or have sex. But, you’re bitter, easily moved by your circumstances, and you have unforgiveness in your heart.

So, yes, you’re saved, but are you free to?

God has saved you from your issues. But are you living in freedom from them?

If you can identify with any of the above, take a look at the following ways that will help you to be free from your issues:

Arise from your circumstances – Isaiah 60:1 – Don’t just die to whatever has kept you down, but literally be free from it, too. Make the decision that God is stronger than your circumstances, your emotions, and be intentional about not imagining. When you stop imagining, you won’t create a situation of worry, doubt, or fear in your mind that God doesn’t support.
Everything lost for Christ is gained in abundance– Philippians 3:8 Understand that moping over your past is a sure way to not be free from it. Count it all as a gain for Christ and forget what’s behind. If this sounds like you, I encourage you to read my book which talks about the many struggles I gave up for Christ, like addiction, promiscuity, and alcohol, to draw closer to Him.
Hear and abide by correction – Hebrews 12:6-11/Proverbs 3:11. Sometimes people who aren’t free also have a difficulty with accepting correction. Their insecurities cause them to be too prideful in their abilities. If you accept God’s correction and receive it in love, it can make the process towards freedom happen a lot easier.

At the end of August, I’ll be preaching in Port Elizabeth, South Africa to a crowd of youth. If you are in that area, check out the event details here: Crisp Women Conference.

If you want more advice on living free in Christ, I encourage you to check out my book which shares my story of overcoming addiction, promiscuity, rape, and a suicidal attempt to help you draw closer to God.

Click here to buy the book or click here to get the free book sample.
Click here to get the book plus my free 27 day devotional, the 27 Day Bible Study Challenge , which will help you to learn to read the Bible and spend consistent time with Him.
Click here to get the book plus my free Proverbs 31 Woman Prayer Challenge devotional, which will teach you how to get a “yes” answer to your prayers and have a deeper prayer life.