I CHOOSE FREEDOM!!!!

"So, if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed" John 8:36

Some of you may be familiar with the Newsboy's version of "I Am Free". If you are not, I have attached it at the bottom of this post. We sang this song Sunday at church and God brought a valuable revelation into my life. He spoke, "Lexi, you have chosen healing, you have chosen joy, you have chosen praise, you have chosen to love, will you now let me help you to choose freedom?"

"Freedom God? Freedom from what? If I have joy, if I have healing, if I have praise, what will freedom give me?"

With that question on my heart, I raised my hands in abandonment and submission to the Almighty and proclaimed, "I CHOOSE FREEDOM! I CHOOSE IT AND NO ONE CAN TAKE IT FROM ME!" With that it was as if the chains broke and I was set free. I was freed from all of the "whys" that plagued my thoughts, freed from from the longing and emptiness, and freed from the bondage of letting Ruthie's short life, which is a blip in time compared to eternity, run my entire life. You see, I have this small fear that when Ruthie's birthday comes around I will still be wallowing in the same pain and emptiness. Those emotions have their moments, and God allows them, but I will NOT allow the enemy to keep me there. You see we have an adversary, his name is Satan, and he loves nothing more than to keep us where we are at or even better set us back a peg or too. Advancement in God's kingdom is something he hates and it sickens him to watch. I LOVE to sicken the stomach of my enemy.

But in every battle God provides us with the victory. Luke 10:19 says, "Behold I give you authority to trample snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall harm you." Within this verse lies the power of the Christian life. Authority granted to us by Christ to overcome all schemes of the enemy that come against us. Sunday I chose to no longer "walk through the valley of death" (psalm 23:4). I chose to put on my big girl panties and wage war with the enemy himself...except I did not fight, I received the freedom that comes from Christ. Sunday I advanced in God's kingdom and the enemy shuttered and his minions shook in fear. I chose freedom from the schemes of Satan to hold me in my despair, I chose to not let "any weapon forged against me to prosper" (Isaiah 54:17), I chose to RECEIVE freedom over the pain, the questions, and the attacks that come in the darkness that attempt to instill fear.

In the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego they get thrown into the fiery furnace. If you are not familiar with the story read it in Daniel 3. The natural mind tells us that when thrown into a fire we should burn up. Not these three! Jesus comes into the fire with them, walks with them through the fire, and then lets the fire burn the bindings that are holding their hands together. Jesus has willingly jumped into my fire, walked with me through it, and has now burned up my bondage that I might be set free. When the 3 boys come out of the fire the Word says, there was no smell of fire upon them. Say-what? They were in the fire, didn't get burned, kept all their hair, and don't even smell like they were next to a BBQ? YES! That is right, they were so completely freed from the fire and spared from torture that when they left no one even knew they had walked through it. Sunday was that day for me. Sunday I came out of the fire with no stench upon me. Sunday I received my free gift from the Lord to walk out of this fire and leave the remains that plagued me behind. Thank you Jesus that you walk through our fires with us, that you protect us, free us, and when we are done with the trial of life we are so much better off that unless you ask, you wouldn't know we went through it at all! Praise God! God Bless you for reading, pray with me.

Father God thank you that you are a God that walks through the flames of life with us, and that you set us free from the schemes of the enemy to keep us there. That you that you are a God that always wants to see us advancing and you push us in the right direction through your free gifts of love, salvation, forgiveness and mercy. Father I pray for those who don't know you in a personal way that you would speak to them tonight and remind them of a time you walked them through the flames. I pray that your still small voice would be so real to them that their mouths would be filled with praise. Holy Spirit, hover over those who are in their fire right now, cover them with your comfort and peace and let your presence be known to them. If they are in bondage, if Satan is working overtime to keep them in pain we command he stop now and be removed from his assignment in the name of Jesus! He has no authority over those who know God and we ask now for an outpouring of your love and power. We pray all these things through the name of Christ, Amen.

As promised, here is the song. Enjoy!