To break free from distress and other problems, you need to know how and you need to know Who. Guest blogger Lynn Mosher encourages us to snip entanglements of care and distress and break free. She writes regularly at her blog.–Ed.
Snip the Earth Bands
Tethered. Earthbound. A spirit cannot be free to soar as an eagle.
Earth-bands keep us from our freedom in the heavenlies. What wraps us up, entangling us with bands of care and distress?
* fear
* pride
* defeat
* doubts
* worries
* anxiety
* unbelief
* irritation
* concerns
* depression
* selfishness
* disobedience
* unforgiveness
* discouragement
* mistrust/distrust
And that’s probably just the short list!
Each one of these will send out a tentacle of restraint to wrap around us, trapping us in our thoughts, enmeshing us with the world.
The Way to Break Free
So, what breaks us free?
* trust
* faith
* obedience
* forgiveness
* praise and thanksgiving
* whispering the Lord’s Name
* spending time in His presence
Each of these will break every chain, every binding cord, and set us free. You want to break free, don’t you? The Lord will provide all that we need, just as He did for Paul and Silas when imprisoned and shackled…
Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! (Acts 16:25-26 NLT)
Though circumstances physically fettered Paul’s and Silas’ bodies to the prison, their unshackled spirits soared in freedom in the Throne Room of God. And release came when they sang praises.
Focus on Who Sets Us Free
Being in the Lord’s presence brings peace, joy, and comfort to your trouble heart, mind, and spirit. Focusing on Him releases those spiritual shackles and lifts you above your circumstances.
Come unto Me…and I will give you rest, the Lord says. (Matt. 11:28 KJV)
Truly, we will receive His rest, peace, comfort, and more when we…
* surrender all our worldly attachments.
* relinquish our hold on life’s struggles.
* snap off any of the enemy’s fetters by praising the Lord.
Let not all the trials of life, the enemy’s efforts, or your fleshly doings become like tendrils of weeds, wrapping around your heart and tethering your spirit.
When those earthly chains are broken, you will rise above earth’s bonds on the wings of a dove to soar in freedom and victory, rising into the realm of joy and appreciation.
May you be released from those things of earth that bind you to its surface, that you may experience new, abundant, and victorious living. May you soar with the eagles.
A Prayer to Break Free
Lord, loose the earthly fetters of my flesh and the enemy that entangle my feet and impede my walk with You. They have slowly, deliberately, and cunningly wrapped their tentacles of fear, doubt, disobedience, worry, defeat, discouragement, selfishness, and mistrust around me and kept my spirit earthbound. Break each and every one that attempts to separate me from Your presence, Your love, Your fellowship, and Your peace. Release them that I may soar the heights of heaven’s freedom. Amen!
photo credit: Bald Eagle soaring over Lake Nipissing via photopin (license)
