Gaining Freedom

In February 2020, I was a drunk libertarian sitting in my own basement looking down on the folks that weren’t free. I spent my days laughing at folks for their philosophies that kept them shackled to ideas like religion and government while I was shackled to my own love of ideas. I made a lot of enemies and hurt a lot of folks emotionally and probably spiritually. And I thought that somehow, in all of this confusion and mess that I was living within that I was somehow more free than them.

Then came the plague and fear hit. I was afraid because I realized that I was not living as free as I thought. BUT God had a plan to get me free. And that led to me continuing a story decades in the making. A story that led me back to Him and into a relationship as on fire and committed as it was nearly four decades ago.

I was raised in a Pentecostal church. And when I say raised I mean I knew every corner and space in that church. I was also a smart kid. Reading The Bible and knowing the stories was easy for me. I could soak that stuff up like a sponge. When I finally made the decision to become a Christian, I was really on fire for doing what God commanded. And that fire hit a lot of walls. I hit walls when the folks around me were not on the same page with my commitment. I saw a lot of grown ups make ungodly decisions in the church. And then I started to see some cracks in the church and in religion. I saw a lot of the problems BUT no one had provided an explanation that made any sense to me. I was just seeing folks I thought were Christians acting in so many unChristian ways. And that contributed to my spiral out of those church doors, into other churches, into other religions, and then totally out of faith. Probably a typical story all around this world. Folks failed me so I looked at that as God’s failure. So, I decided to fail Him too. And I was really good at failing Him.

When the plague hit and food got scarce and reality became real, I was afraid. Mostly I was afraid because I was living a lie. I was all about freedom and I was nowhere near free. And then my journey began. Or maybe my journey never really stopped. Maybe the setbacks and sidesteps and detours and distractions were there for a reason. Maybe all that diversion into idolatry and destruction were part of His plan. Or maybe it was just me fighting against His plan. One day I will know, however, today I can live with that uncertainty. Because no matter how uncertain my notices were in the past, my motives today are simply to be faithful to Him. I get to daily live in the freedom He has brought into my life.

Grace and Shalom to your home. The Kingdom of God is now!

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH