Freedom Through Exposure

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. Isaiah 61:1 (New King James Version)

Initially this verse refers to our salvation experience and then it becomes the banner of freedom to all those who would take God at His word! As each one of us seek freedom in various areas of our life, God readily offers keys to unlock the bars and doors of our heart. He knows what holds us captive and imprisoned and He will systematically reveal those places to us if we would but ask. It is a process I am becoming familiar with. Wrong behavior and choices are causing me to go to Him for the truth of what is behind it all. As He reveals the truth to me, I must acknowledge it and embrace it for myself. With the truth often comes steps of obedience in order to implement change. As I cooperate with Him I experience the falling of chains and opening of prison doors!

Putting this in writing sounds so easy but making it a part of my every day life is another story all together. It is one thing to see that change in my life is needed but it is a huge step to go from that to actually asking God to reveal my heart to me. While it would be easy to focus on changing my behavior God is letting me know it will require an awareness of my heart motives. Transformation is only possible as the root causes of behavior are exposed and dealt with. For a person who is accustomed to hiding behind masks and fearing exposure, these steps are only possible by His grace.

God is presently walking me through some steps to freedom. They are often uncomfortable but I am discovering the benefits as I trust Him and cooperate. For awhile it involved simply asking Him to reveal my heart and then confessing back to Him what was going on. This morning He has introduced a new requirement and sheer terror was my initial response to Him for it involved admitting to another individual the truth God was revealing to me about myself. Talk about leaving ones comfort zone! Initially I didn’t want to do it but once I did I experienced freedom. In my case, exposure is a key that has unlocked a door I have been trapped behind. Now that this person knows the truth about me I will be less likely to continue a particular behavior. God has blown my “cover” and that has set me free!

Father, hiding has robbed me of joy and peace far too often. Truth has set me free and grace has helped me to walk in that freedom. Seeing who I am and admitting what I am like is accompanied by the sound of falling chains. Amen.