What Does True Freedom Mean in the Bible? (And Why It Feels Different Than I Expected)

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

This verse excited me when I read it. I don't recall seeing it before, but I felt that excitement because the spirit lives in me, and if where the spirit lives there is freedom, that's what peace beyond understanding feels like. It feels like freedom. Freedom to surrender and let God take over, knowing I don't have to keep fighting or grinding. The fact that His spirit is in me makes me happy, because I'm where He dwells now. Not in some temple, but within me.

I love that the narrator, Clarissa Burton, reminds us that before we get into the word, we believe we can find freedom through worldly things. When you turn your life over to God, you learn that true freedom is in that relationship. It's in allowing access to the Lord in your heart and choosing to follow Him.

The devotional, True Freedom Is Here, talks about how many people define freedom differently. For some it's the absence of restraints or the things holding us back. For others it's being allowed to choose what they want. According to God's word, freedom is wherever God is, and freedom is found when we live according to God's original design for our life.

I don't know that I've ever heard it described that way before. The original design for our life. So what is that?

The devotional explains that when we begin our life with Jesus, He gives us a new heart and a new way to live. He sends the spirit of God to live within us, so anyone who believes in Jesus has access to this freedom, the freedom to live according to the spirit of God who lives within us.

Paul reminds us that we should spend time in God's presence. It's only when we sit with God daily that we are transformed by Him, through His word and through talking with Him. That's where we have access to true life, transformation, and true freedom.

This is a reminder that real freedom is found in surrender to God's design, in the peace of trusting Him instead of trying to control everything myself. I think about the times in my life when I felt like I had freedom. College, graduating, living on my own as an adult. But in those seasons I never felt the peace beyond understanding the way I feel today, after intentionally seeking a better understanding of what it truly means to be a Christian and to turn my life over to God.

Can you identify one or two things holding you back from living in true freedom as defined by the word of God? Whatever it is, spend some time with God today. Ask for forgiveness and seek out your next steps. Spend time in His presence through prayer and reading scripture. Your life will be transformed if you continue to spend time with the One who can thoroughly and truly change you and give you real freedom.

Peace, Love and Joy always, Tanya
InfiniteFaithandFavor.com