When have you felt the most at peace, the most content, or the most pure freedom you have ever felt? No pressure, no guilt, no shame, no fear, no burdens or bondage. Just free.

No matter who you are, times exist where we are not free, even if we know we are ultimately freed in Christ. Many reasons can cause us to be burdened, restricted, frustrated, up tight, distraught, etc. Those reasons can be outside of our control or within our control.

The key thing we want to have or the key place we want to know and be, is that whenever these reasons cause us to not feel free, no matter how hard, painful or horrible, we can still find and have an underlying peace that everything will be okay in the end. It really might not be okay in the moment, but it will be, and in the bigger picture of life, it is okay.

Why? How can it be? How will it be? How do we reach that place?

Only by the power and blood of Jesus Christ, who willingly laid down His life for each and every one of us.  Christ has already won. In the end of time as we know it, God wins. And we can know, believe and trust that, which brings freedom and hope to the present!

It doesn't mean we don't cry. It doesn't mean we don't grieve. It doesn't mean we hide from the difficult. It doesn't mean we don't get upset about the injustices in our world or when life doesn't go as planned or expected. It doesn't mean we all have different battles to fight that are hard. It doesn't mean God isn't still fighting for us through the evils of our world.

But freedom does entail actually being able to work through and get past those tough and dark places. It is being able to express and do what we need to get through those parts of our lives in a healthy manner, even if it takes time.

It just doesn't work when we only know about God.  It works and becomes real in our lives when we know God--when we know Jesus and let Him in to those deepest, darkest places. He is the One whose love heals. He is the One whose grace is sufficient. He is the One who never fails us. He is the One whose forgiveness takes away all guilt and shame from our sin. He is the One who sets us free.

We are the ones who don't let God in. We are the ones who close our ears, turn a stubborn shoulder and stop paying attention to the Truth. We are the ones who harden our hearts and can make them as hard as diamonds. THIS prevents freedom! Even when something outside of our control causes us to feel enslaved, how we choose to go about and handle that situation is what will determine if we reach that place of freedom again or not.

Freedom and the way to freedom is always offered and always there for the taking (again, even if it takes time and is hard). But it is always on our shoulders if we will choose that path to freedom or not. Are you free? What steps need to be taken in your life to find freedom?