Living Free - March 13, 2018

Surrender your heart to God, turn to him in prayer, and give up your sins—even those you do in secret. Then you won't be ashamed; you will be confident and fearless. Job 11:13-15

Thoughts for Today

People build walls to hide their feelings and cover up their problems and wrongdoing. We've all done it. We even begin to believe the lies we are telling ourselves and others. Eventually we may be unable to see the truth at all.

Life-controlling problems are usually accompanied by painful feelings of guilt and shame. This kind of pain is an indication that something is wrong. When the pain comes as a result of our sin, we need to humble ourselves, confess our fault, ask forgiveness of God and those we have offended, and right any wrongs we have done. However … sometimes it seems easier just to ignore the pain.

God designed painful feelings to be a warning system. They let us know when we need to pay attention to something in our lives. But too often we bury our feelings and don't admit, even to ourselves, the problems deep within. These buried feelings may explode to the surface when we least expect them, causing us to do something rash or to hurt someone we care about.

Consider this …

One participant in a Living Free small group said this about hiding problems: "It's kind of like trying to keep an air balloon under water … It's hard work. And a person works hard to keep those feelings down … to keep from facing the real issues. But you know that balloon will pop—that's why you have emotional outbursts … There's something buried there."

Is there a balloon in your life that you are trying to hold underwater? Today's scripture urges us to surrender to God, giving it all to Him … even our secrets.

Prayer

Lord, I've worked very hard to keep this secret buried. But I'm worn out. I know I need to surrender it to you. Please forgive me, and help me change. I no longer want to be ashamed. I desire the peace and confidence that you promise. In Jesus' name …

These thoughts were drawn from…Living Free by Jimmy Ray Lee, D. Min. and Dan Strickland, M. Div. This updated version is presented in two parts. It offers information for anyone who either has a life-controlling problem or has a loved one with a life-controlling problem:

Part 1: Learning to Live Free

• Defining Life-Controlling Problems
• Mastered and Trapped by Issues
• Walls of Protection
• Family Influences
• Helping or Harming?

Part 2: Helping Others to Live Free through Small Groups

• The Small Group Strategy
• Effective Facilitation and Communication

Launching a Living Free Ministry