Shackles & Freedom

Have you struggled in your relationships with your father figure(s)? Do you live in shame about choices you’ve made in the past? Do you feel hopeless? Do you sometimes feel adrift?

I’ve struggled with my father figures. I’ve felt shame and regret about choices I made (to be honest, I still do sometimes). I’ve felt hopeless. I’ve felt adrift. But all that changed in 2004. I learned that the only Father I need is Father God. That I don’t have to live shackled by my bad choices. That I have been set free, yet I am anchored in love. Most importantly, I know that I am never alone; there is always Someone I can turn to when life overwhelms me. He is an Overcomer… so am I… so are YOU.

If you’ve been reading what I’ve been sharing since I launched this blog in September 2020, you know that I’ve made some poor decisions. Those choices didn’t bother me at the time. After all, “everyone else was doing it.” But now, about twenty-five years later, I wish someone had tried to tell me what I so desperately want to tell you.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY

This world tells us to do whatever feels right, regardless of the consequences or how it makes anyone else feel. However, in his letter to the Romans, Paul writes, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NIV) I believe we renew our minds by studying God’s Word. The more we study the Bible, the less we will want to conform to this world. Instead, we will seek to stand out, to point others to the Source of our hope and our strength. The more time we spend seeking God’s will in His Word, the easier it becomes to discern His will for us.

I know there are people who twist what the Bible says in order to serve their own agenda. There are also teachers of the Gospel who seek to share the goodness of God and encourage us to grow in our faith. It is up to us to learn how to tell the difference between these two opposing teaching styles.

PRAY

First, we must pray and ask God to reveal His truth in what we see and hear. I struggle with this myself because I fear that I won’t be able to differentiate between what God is telling me and what my mind is telling me.

READ

Second, we must read the Bible for ourselves. I love a good preacher of the Gospel; however, I can’t depend on someone else to spoon feed me my whole life. At some point, I have to pick up a Bible myself and read what God says.

OBSERVE

Third, we must make an observation about what we are reading. What does it say? Is there a particular passage that stands out to us? Spend some time in that passage. Maybe there is a personal message there for us.

APPLY

Fourth, we must apply what we’re reading to our own lives. This is where I expect push back. There are people who read the Old Testament which is full of 613 laws that the Israelites were expected to live by. Those with a religious education knew the laws better than anyone, but they let the laws get in the way of the intent of the laws. So how are we, in the twenty-first century, supposed to apply all those laws? We’re not supposed to because Christ died to “fulfill” them. (Matthew 5:17 NIV)

I believe God’s intent behind His laws was simple – do no harm to another and love each other. We can do that. It gets easier to apply what we read when we get into the New Testament. Jesus’s teachings, the books by the apostles, and the epistles written to the early churches all seem more instructional and, therefore, more applicable.

There is a common form of Bible study known as SOAK or SOAP, and it follows a similar pattern to what I just described. Read a chapter of the Bible and find a particular Scripture that stands out to you. Observe what that passage is saying. Apply the principle found in the passage. Finally, Kneel (in prayer) or Pray about what you’ve learned.

DON’T DO IT ALONE

However you choose to study the Bible, please find someone to study with you. You may join a group of people studying the Bible or have just one study partner. I learned the importance of studying, growing, and learning with others at the very beginning of my spiritual journey.

We lived in Charleston, South Carolina, at the time, and our next-door neighbors were a military family like us. The woman, Deanna, invited me to her Bible study with several other military wives. There I made a few close friends who have been instrumental in my faith walk as well as my role as a mother. I consider one of those women, Tania, my spiritual big sister. Whenever I have a question about God or faith or the Bible, I know that I can turn to her. If she doesn’t know the answer, she’ll help me find it.

Make sure you find someone who’s willing to: study with you, discuss what you’re learning together, and pray for and with you. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.” (CEV)

I’m going to be digging into the Word again this year. I’m praying for you to find freedom through your own study of the Bible, and I ask that you’d pray for me as I seek to share the Truth of God as Father.

Be blessed and be a blessing, my Sister in Christ!