Fear and Freedom

“ I do not understand what I do for what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7:15

This particular scripture is one that has meant many different things to me throughout my life. Throught various struggles in life this verse has spoken out to me.
Currently this verse describes my life with worry. I have always been a person who worries, but I feel that lately my worry has gotten out of control. Not the kind of worry that is to be joked about “O yeah I’m just a worry-wort” But the kind of worry that has started to take over my life.

It wasn't something that just happened overnight. Lately I have realized that my worry has gotten out of control, but as much as I wanted to stop it I continued to let it take over. For whatever reason, tonight was a night when I decided that something needed to be done. I could not sit back and allow worry to take over my life anymore, I began to seriously seek God, to help me rid this worry from my life.

As I was spending time with God looking for the verse mentioned above I came across a different verse, one that was underlined in my bible, but tonight it was brand new to me (don’t you love it when hat happens?) This was the verse:

For you did not receive a sprit that makes you a slave to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry Abba Father. Romans 8:15

As I scanned across and read this verse it hit me like a ton of bricks – I have not received a spirit that makes me a slave to fear – YET I am allowing myself to be controlled by fear – with each ridiculous worry I am allowing fear to consume and control my life.
The second part of the verse says that I received a spirit of sonship. – I am able to have a close relationship with God, he calls me his daughter and through this relationship I have freedom – yet I continue to choose the path of being controlled by fear. WHY?!?!??!

I am so thankful that God opened my eyes to this sin – why would I let anything control me? Especially fear, which robs me of joy, peace, relationships and most importantly freedom. I pray that God would help me in this journey to once again experience his peace without being bogged down by the chains of fear and worry. I know that as I seek God it will take perseverance and self-control to break myself of this horrible habit that I have put in my life – but I am determined to experience the freedom that Christ has for me. I will choose to not entertain these thoughts any longer.

What is controlling you? What are you allowing to hold you down when God tells us that we have received a spirit of sonship – we are God’s child and he desires for us to call out to our Father – asking him to free us from the chains that entangle us – allowing ourselves to not let ANYTHING control us but Him.

..where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" 2 Corinthians 3:17