The following is a devotion from my message series 10 Steps to Freedom. I hope these devotionals help you experience lasting freedom in Jesus!

STEP SIX: day 1

Do life together

Can I do this on my own? This is a question that we all wish we could secretly answer “yes” to, but to walk in freedom this question has to be answered with a resounding and definitive “no.” For most of us the guilt and shame associated with whatever has kept us from freedom drives us towards isolation. We’re ashamed of having messed up. We’re ashamed of messing up again. We’re ashamed of breaking promises to our families, to ourselves, to God. In many ways we never grow out of our childhood instinct to run and hide when we know we’ve done something wrong.

Here and now you need to fundamentally reject that instinct as a lie from the enemy and an attempt to keep you from freedom. If we were strong enough to overcome our sinful nature on our own, Jesus would have never had to come and die for us. The truth of the matter is we’re not strong enough to find freedom on our own. When James teaches the early Christians how to find freedom, many wish he would have said, “Confess your sins to God and pray to God so that you may be healed.” We would love nothing more to keep our problems to ourselves and not have to depend on anyone for anything. But that’s not how God hard-wired us. We were created for community and we only find freedom together. That’s why James actually wrote in James 5:16, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.“ Can you find freedom on your own? Sorry, the answer is a definitive and resounding “no”. Freedom only happens together.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What was your instinct as a child or what is your reaction as an adult when you know you’ve done something wrong? Do you run towards or shy away from other people? Why is that?
2. Whatever you’re trying to find freedom from, how has it worked so far to only try and find freedom yourself? Are you willing to find it together?

You can read other devotional entries for 10 Steps to Freedom here.