I Am Free

In light of Easter this week I’ve been thinking on how to even put into words the ways that becoming a believer in Jesus has completely transformed my life. I keep coming back to this idea of being set free. Here are some ways that Jesus Christ has set me free:

First, and foremost, believing in Jesus has set me free from my fear of the unknown about death and dying. Between my junior year of high school and sophomore year of college 5 of my classmates and friends died. Two of them passed away in accidents, two of them took their own lives, and one of my best friends from high school passed away in a diabetes attack during my second year of college. For the most part each of these classmates/friends hung out with the same people I did. We were all linked with the same group of friends. There was a time where I constantly wondered, who is next out of our group? Is it me? At this point in my life I was not a believer, and these tragic deaths of my friends were a constant reminder to me that I wasn’t sure of what exactly happened in death. Eventually I tucked away my fears of the unknown and tried to ignore them, not worry about them, and not think about them. I went along with the idea of our American culture that if you are a good person you go to heaven when you die, and that idea was what I believed year after year. Of course that all changed when I heard the gospel preached one Sunday at church. (You can read about that life-changing sermon here). When I heard our pastor preaching about entrance into heaven being only through a relationship with Jesus it finally clicked. Eternal life was a gift from God’s son, Jesus. And all I had to do was put my faith in Him. Entrance into heaven was nothing that I could earn. Once I accepted Jesus as my Savior and began reading my Bible I realized that it talks about Jesus being the gateway for eternal life all throughout the Bible. Understanding this became freedom inside of me. I was no longer ignorant about death. I had the answer. My burdened heart was finally able to release my fears and uncertainties about death and instead cling to the message of the wondrous cross. And I finally had peace because I knew where I was going when I died because of what Christ had done for me. In Christ I have found freedom from the fear of dying, and surety of an eternity in heaven. Hebrews 2:14-15 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Putting my faith in Jesus has also set me free from the exhausting cycle of trying to find fulfillment with the things, people, and relationships of this world. Seeking happiness used to determine my every action because I thought happiness was the key to life. The eventual problem I found was that seeking happiness with temporal, external, ever-changing, and self-gratifying ways was only momentarily filling. Shallow would be another word for it. Deep fulfillment wasn’t even on the radar. In fact, I oftentimes would find myself regretting my actions, feeling let down by others, and always looking to the next thing and the next thing that could possibly make me happy. I was in an endless cycle of searching but never finding what I was looking for. But in Christ I found something different. In John 7:38 Jesus says “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." And this is what Christ has brought to my life. At the age of 27 I can confidently say that my life is complete because of Christ. Yes, I still have struggles and trials and pain and ways that I am being matured and grown in my walk with Him. But, I have an anchor in my soul. An anchor of peace. The depth of this feeling is what I find so hard to put into words. If you’ve experienced it, then you already know. If you haven’t, I hope you will put your faith in Jesus. Psalm 34:8-10 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

There is also freedom in knowing who I am living for. I am free from seeking after the approval of others. Galatians 1:10 says Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. This has fully changed my perspective in life. My barometer is the standards of God. Not the standards of man. I certainly want to live peaceably with others, but I don’t have to obsess about how they view me. For over half of my life I strived to be approved by others. At school I wanted everyone to like me, and I was devastated when some didn’t. This approval seeking entered into other areas of my life as well, and it was exhausting to try and make myself look good on the outside to anyone and everyone. Proverbs 30:31 says Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. This was the first verse that I ever memorized because I struggled with this so much. And, this is now where my standards rest. In Christ I find the freedom to orient my focus on who God has created me to be!

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.