Walking in freedom

When We’re at a Standstill

     My wedding ring was stuck on my finger for six years. When my husband first proposed, the ring was too big, so I had it resized two sizes smaller. A few years later, I wanted the ring to stay in place instead of constantly moving around my finger, so I had it resized smaller than it should have been. Then I gained some weight. Then one night I forgot to take it off before I went to bed. It was good and stuck in the morning. Since I always wear my wedding ring anyway, I did not think it was a big deal at the time to leave it on stuck.

      Fast forward six years later, and the stuck ring got a lot more noticeable during things like pregnancy and medical procedures. I now realize I could have lost my finger in an emergency. Thank goodness I didn’t. So, to keep protecting my finger, my husband and I tried everything from ice and elevation to the dental floss method to try and pry that thing off, but it would not budge. I needed to have someone cut the ring off, but I had to go to someone who knew what he was doing.

The King is the Expert in Healing

      When it comes to matters of the heart, especially when it comes to overcoming bad habits and addictions, I have found I cannot conquer such things myself. I need to go to the only one who knows what is happening and how to heal me – the maker of my soul. I believe counselling and medication can do wonders, but I also believe that nothing on this earth can fix my innermost being. Only God can completely restore. Like my stuck ring, we can try to live with and ignore sin or difficulties for as long as we can, but sooner or later they start to cause problems – the end of a relationship, words we can’t take back, inability to move forward, even death.

    The only person who has complete power over the messes we find ourselves in is Christ. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we need to overcome the most complicated trials. He is also the one who truly knows what we need to thrive, in this very moment, exactly in the place we are at. To me, that’s such a comfort. When troubles seen overwhelming, I am reminded of what Jonathan told his arm bearer when the Philistines were outnumbering the Israelites in battle: “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving” (1 Samuel 14:6). Nothing can hinder the Lord from doing his work and transforming us for the better. Yet, we must first be honest about our shortcomings and willing to constantly bring our personal battles and burdens to the throne of God.

Walking a New Path

    When I called around to different jewelry stores, I found that not a lot of places are qualified to cut off jewelry. One store I called told me that a Medicenter could certainly safely perform this task; however, they might not know how to save the ring. Nevertheless, the sales lady thought, perhaps, a goldsmith could do the job well. She was right. It was an expert goldsmith, who had been doing his job for 20 years, who not only cut off my ring with careful precision but repaired it to be like new, much better than it was. Christ can do the same with our hearts as he says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). I used to think this verse only referred to salvation – asking for forgiveness for sins, surrendering one’s life to God, and becoming a new creation in Christ. I now believe it also applies to every time we turn from sin, no matter how big or small, and look to God for help. He not only continues to renew our heart and spirit but gives us a new and better way to live.

Choosing The Better Way Again and Again

      When the goldsmith cut my ring off, it felt incredible to have that tight, tiny ring finally off my finger. The relief; the freedom! It also felt strange. I had lived with that stuck ring so long, I had barely been able to comprehend what it might be like to have it off. When we start truly living for Christ, seeking him, doing away with things we know are not pleasing to him or life giving, we will experience freedom, but we might also experience foreign or resistant feelings. It is often an upward hill battle to live a different way. How, though, can we possibly comprehend the goodness of God, or the freedom found in Christ, until we start living the way we were created to live?

Conclusion

      There is no doubt that God can redeem and transform our hearts and our lives. He has done it a multitude of times before with all kinds of people. The thing is it will cost us. I had to pay the goldsmith to cut off my ring, refurbish it, and fix some problems. It cost me time and money. God’s grace to us is amazingly free, but following Christ requires hard choices. Often unpopular choices. We will likely lose things, but it’s usually things we can see and touch. We are asked by God to, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2). Whatever we lose on earth for the sake of following Christ, was never worth keeping. God meant for us to be free. The King meant for things to be different. We can receive the freedom He gives. We can choose the better way by ridding ourselves of the sin that so easily entangles by asking God to help us cut it off.

For tangible ways to battle against sin, click the link to my article Seven Ways to Overcome Sin.