You have to set it Free



Bad news, danger, and pain all cause us to look for help. As believers, we dwell with the almighty God, who is able to aid us. At those moments when we are sideswiped by life’s circumstances, we should cry out to Him. 
         
There is a story from Spain about a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away from home, and his father set out to find him. The father searched for months, but to no avail. As a last-ditch effort, the father took out a full-page ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your father.” The next Saturday, 800 men named Paco showed up, all looking for love and forgiveness from their fathers!

How many people in life are walking around looking for love and forgiveness from their Father in heaven?

If you’re like the rest of us, you have probably messed up once or twice in your life. We all make mistakes! As it says in Ecclesiastes 7:20, “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins” (NLT). However, there is also a danger in thinking that you are only a sinner. Every time we fall, there is the risk that we will be too discouraged to get back up again. The next step after sin is repentance; yet sometimes, we find it hard to move on.

I think sin works in the same fashion. Each day we are tempted, and it’s remarkably easy to find an excuse to justify our behavior. We tell ourselves it’s not that bad, that as long as we read our Bible and go to church we’ll be balancing the scales, but that’s not how it works. Sin will slowly corrode your character until one day you’ll find yourself with a serious problem. Because of the cross, we have received the grace of Jesus and are now free from sin, but the battle is not over.

Every day we will be tempted, and every day Jesus will call us to turn from sin and live a life according to his word. There cannot be any compromises with sin; it will only devour us. 

We do terrible things to some people in our society. People who suffer greatly need our compassion and love, but instead they receive our judgment and condemnation. Christ does not ask us to accept sin, or the results of sin, but He commands us to love the one who sins. One thing we may never do is cast aside another of God's children. We do not have that right. 

More often than not we think faithful Christians don't deserve to suffer, but from God's perspective, suffering is what produces faithful Christians. If we all had lives of ease without opposition, trials, or pain, we'd never really know God, because we'd never need Him. Like it or not, adversity teaches us more about the Lord than simply reading the Bible ever will.Difficulties in life can certainly leave us feeling broken and confused. Many times, disappointments come in order to teach us more about the depths of God's love. In desperation, we turn to God. This is when we discover that only His love can truly lift us up and restore our sense of hope.

I'm not saying we don't need to know Scripture; that's our foundation for faith. But if what we believe is never tested by adversity, it remains head knowledge. How will we ever know the Lord can be trusted in the midst of trouble if we've never been challenged by hardship? God gives us opportunities to apply scriptural truths to the difficulties facing us, and in the process, we find Him faithful. For example, how would Paul ever have known the strength of Christ if he had never been weakened by pain, persecution, and adversity?

For the child of God, there is victory and freedom from every form of bondage. If you are struggling with a certain sin, you can be free. When you turn to Jesus Christ and place your trust in Him, a door of hope will open before you. He will provide a way of escape!

Depending on your response, trials can be God's greatest means of building faith or an avenue to discouragement and self-pity. If you'll believe what Scripture says and apply its principles to your situation, your trust in God will grow, and your faith will be strengthened through adversity.

Whatever roads our lives take, Christ is there to provide for us. Don't allow Satan to fool you with the offer of an easy fix, don’t let fear and despair dictate your actions. God is there, and he will help you. You will be set free.

Blessings,

Raj Kosaraju


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