Freedom is Yours

I was listening to an empowerment call and I heard a story about a young girl who questioned the maximization of our freedom. This nine year old girl was telling her father that she was beginning to be bound up by technology instead of living in her freedom to live out her dreams. In other words, she was allowing her phone with all of its apps and gadgets to take her away from writing her book. Yes, she had the freedom to make a choice. However, she realized that freedom to make a choice doesn’t negate the responsibility to make the best choice.

Dictionary.com defines freedom in a number of ways. Freedom is “the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint.” It is an “’exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.” Freedom is “the power to determine action without restraint.” It is an “exemption from the presence of anything specified (usually followed by from).” Freedom can also be viewed as “the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc.”

We are all free to make decisions that will help grow us or destroy us. We are free to choose to win or to lose. We are free to sleep in late or to wake up to productivity. We are free to spend time scrolling through facebook or writing a business plan. We are free to love or to hate. We are free to eat clean or to eat bons bons all day. We are free to get active or to stay stationary. We are free to pay our mortgage or to gamble our mortgage payment. We are free to buy groceries or to buy the new Jordan’s. We all have freedom to make our own choices.

The choices we make determine whether we continue to live in freedom or whether we become bound up. When we choose to live in freedom, we choose to take control. We choose to take personal responsibility. We choose to walk in wisdom. We choose to give up excuses. We choose to be steadfast. We choose to see a brighter tomorrow. We choose to walk in faith. We choose to let go of our past. Let go of fear. Let go of doubt. We choose to walk in our purpose. We choose to forgive. We choose to let go of pain. We choose to believe.

When we fail to make these choices, we find ourselves bound up. Bound up by disappointment. Bound up by heartache. Bound up by disbelief. Bound up by shame. Bound up by rejection. Bound up by regret.

It’s time to let all of that go!  We were not created to be bound up.  John 8:36 tells us, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The Son set us free when He went up on that old rugged cross, hung there, and died for us. When He arose three days later, that was our reminder that we are not stuck in bondage. Instead, we are free to capitalize on our choices. Free to walk in wisdom. Free to pursue our purpose. Free to let go and let God.

Are you maximizing your freedom?