Freedom can be defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants, and also the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. In this regard, freedom will look different for each one of us.
Compared to many people across the globe, we live in a free country, although this doesn’t guarantee that we always feel free.
To feel free is wonderful, but freedom is so much more than feelings. If you live life trusting in freedom feelings, what happens when they are absent? If you feel free today but not tomorrow, if one day the sky seems lit up with fireworks but the next is like a dense fog, what has changed?
Neither the character of God, His love for you, His intent or His activity are affected by your feelings. God offers freedom through Jesus Christ that is real, regardless of our feelings.
It has been observed that “freedom is never free”. Someone always pays the price for your freedom, whether it’s as significant as sacrificing their life in war or as simple as conceding their own food preferences so that you are free to enjoy your favourite cuisine when dining out.
Jesus said, “so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. What does this freedom look like? Jesus provides freedom from the baggage of your past, burdens of today and fears for tomorrow, paid for by the sacrifice of His own life for your sake. Through faith in Jesus Christ, you can be free from sin and its penalty, that is, death and hell.
As well as being granted freedom from certain things, you are also freed into forgiveness, life, empowerment, love, purpose, hope, belonging, and more. Freedom is part of the privilege, wonder, blessing and joy of following Jesus.
In reference to freedom, Jesus also said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The truth Jesus teaches provides freedom from past trauma, from negative things other people say, even from the demands that success places on your life. There is great freedom in believing that the promises of God can be trusted, that the principles of God are your best help for navigating life and that the purposes of God can be followed with confidence.
Such freedom can be your everyday reality, even when life otherwise seems constricted or weighed down with relationship issues, health challenges or financial stress, and so on.
Psalm 118:5 says “in my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free”. Another translation reads “…He brought me into a spacious place”.
So, what does freedom mean? It means being provided, through Jesus Christ, room to breathe deeply and space to rest confidently in the goodness of God, in every season.
— Pastor Lynette Kay, Living Waters Church
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