4 Areas Women Can Experience Freedom in Christ

First and foremost, we can rejoice that we are eternally free from the bondage of sin when we accept God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. This is forever settled on earth and in heaven. Scripture assures us in Romans 8:1-4 (NLT),

"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit."

Even though the enemy of our soul will always try to make us believe false narratives such as we must earn our salvation, we must work in order to maintain our salvation, or we can lose our salvation if we mess up, the truth of God's Word always points us back to Calvary. Since salvation is a gift we could not have initiated, we simply receive this gift through the finished work of Jesus. Does this mean we are incapable of sinning? Of course not. Our humanity will not allow us to live sinless lives. However, just because we may sin does not mean we are enslaved to sin.

As disciples of Christ, our objective is to accept God's grace that is evidenced through the process of sanctification. In other words, we are all still a work in progress. Yet, we do not seek to actively practice sin just because we have God's grace. When we sin, we can quickly repent and be reminded of our freedom in Jesus. We can no longer be in bondage to sin because we understand that the power of God lives within us, giving us the ability to stand firm in our liberty through Christ Jesus. The goal of believers should always be to live a life that offers glory and honor for our precious gift of salvation.

At some point in our lives, we all experience fear, no matter how brave we may be. Fear can manifest in many forms. Some of the fears especially intimidating to women are the fear of failure, rejection, and inadequacy.

The fear of failure can be paralyzing because it will prevent us from taking action out of fear that our actions will only result in loss and not the fulfillment of achievement. We feel it is pointless to attempt success because, in the end, we will only end up experiencing defeat. The fear of failure can also be related to perfectionism. If the only way we are willing to attempt success at something is when we are guaranteed there is no way possible we can fail, or otherwise we delay action, then we fear failure.

The fear of rejection can sting us to our core. After mustering up enough courage to become vulnerable, we must face the risk of not being accepted. Sometimes we push past our fear of failure and are bold enough to take action, but then deal with the reality of rejection over the very thing we took a step of faith to pursue. Have you ever been there? I sure have, and rejection in any form is not the easiest pill to swallow.

Let's not forget about the fear of inadequacy. Plainly put, this is when we just don't feel enough - good enough, smart enough, pretty enough - you can fill in the blank here. The fear of inadequacy is laced with insecurity. We pick ourselves apart, judging all of our flaws. We allow everything we are or are not good at doing to become magnified so much that we feel inadequate. This fear of inadequacy will influence how we perceive ourselves, project ourselves, and limit our ability to receive the abundant life God has designed and desires for us to live.

But the good news remains, we can be free from all fear! 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) states, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." Isaiah 43:1 (NLT) reminds us, "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine." We belong to God, and He promises to rescue and redeem us from fear. God wants us to be filled with peace, not fear. Whenever fear encroaches to threaten our freedom, we can call upon the Lord because He will deliver us. He promises that when we feel afraid, we can put our trust in Him; we can run The Rock and be confident fear will not steal our freedom.