I'm Free, Right?

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

Galatians 5:1

I'm in the middle of my own bible study in the book of James and I stumbled across the word free and I have been trying to make it a habit to look up the definitions and assume that I don't know the meaning of the words that I'm reading, so I can get a deeper look into the chapter. Anyway, I looked it up and I encourage you to do the same. Here are the few examples that stuck out to me: "not under the control or in the power of another," "not or no longer confined or imprisoned," "not subject to or affect by," and most importantly, "without cost or payment."

I know, in my own life, I have given up my freedom without meaning to. The last description made me think about my anxiety that I had since middle school. I hadn't been free and my anxiety cost me my peace of mind and the capability to go wherever I wanted because I was too worried about what would happen. I accepted whatever was going on in my life and it became my own baggage. I lived every moment of it and wanted to change things, but couldn't. I didn't realize that I had the power to change things through my own thoughts. I began to accept that I had authority just as Jesus Christ did and that is when everything began to change. Now, I can go out to town by myself without fear (I know it doesn't mean like a big deal, but it is) and when I wake up in the morning, I can dance in victory because I know, I'll have an amazing day no matter what happens. It's incredible how a relationship with Jesus Christ can change everything.

Is there something you feel you need to break free from?