{"id":728,"date":"2019-01-07T05:19:31","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T05:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=728"},"modified":"2019-01-07T10:20:05","modified_gmt":"2019-01-07T10:20:05","slug":"can-find-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2019\/01\/can-find-freedom.html","title":{"rendered":"Can I Find Freedom on my Own?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"unsplash-logoEric
Eric Ward<\/span><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The following is a devotion from my message series\u00a010 Steps to Freedom<\/a>. I hope these devotionals help you experience lasting freedom in Jesus!<\/em><\/p>\n

STEP SIX: day 1<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do life\u00a0<\/i>together<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Can I do this on my own?<\/i> This is a question that we all wish we could secretly answer \u201cyes\u201d to, but to walk in freedom this question has to be answered with a resounding and definitive \u201cno.\u201d For most of us the guilt and shame associated with whatever has kept us from freedom drives us towards isolation. We\u2019re ashamed of having messed up. We\u2019re ashamed of messing up again. We\u2019re ashamed of breaking promises to our families, to ourselves, to God. In many ways we never grow out of our childhood instinct to run and hide when we know we\u2019ve done something wrong. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here and now you need to fundamentally reject that instinct as a lie from the enemy and an attempt to keep you from freedom. If we were strong enough to overcome our sinful nature on our own, Jesus would have never had to come and die for us. The truth of the matter is we\u2019re not strong enough to find freedom on our own. When James teaches the early Christians how to find freedom, many wish he would have said, \u201cConfess your sins to God<\/i> and pray to<\/i> God<\/i> so that you may be healed.\u201d We would love nothing more to keep our problems to ourselves and not have to depend on anyone for anything. But that\u2019s not how God hard-wired us. We were created for community and we only find freedom together<\/i>. That\u2019s why James actually wrote in James 5:16, \u201cConfess\u00a0your sins to <\/i>each other and pray for <\/i>each other so that you may be\u00a0healed.\u201c<\/i> Can you find freedom on your own? Sorry, the answer is a definitive and resounding \u201cno\u201d. Freedom only happens together.<\/span><\/p>\n

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What was your instinct as a child or what is your reaction as an adult when you know you\u2019ve done something wrong? Do you run towards or shy away from other people? Why is that?<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Whatever you\u2019re trying to find freedom from, how has it worked so far to only try and find freedom yourself? Are you willing to find it together?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can read other devotional entries\u00a0for 10 Steps to Freedom\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The following is a devotion from my message series\u00a010 Steps to Freedom. I hope these devotionals help you experience lasting freedom in Jesus! STEP SIX: day 1 Do life\u00a0together Can I do this on my own? This is a question that we all wish we could secretly answer \u201cyes\u201d to, but to walk in freedom…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[316,2],"tags":[142,318,144,359],"class_list":["post-728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-10-steps-to-freedom","category-next-steps","tag-alone","tag-freedom","tag-lonely","tag-together"],"yoast_head":"\nCan I Find Freedom on my Own? - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Life would be so much simpler if we could answer 'yes' to this question, but perhaps that's why you're still not free.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can I Find Freedom on my Own? - Next Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Life would be so much simpler if we could answer 'yes' to this question, but perhaps that's why you're still not free.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2019\/01\/can-find-freedom.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"facebook.com\/drjoshdaffern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-07T05:19:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-07T10:20:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/files\/2019\/01\/eric-ward-455457-unsplash-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Josh Daffern\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@joshdaffern\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can I Find Freedom on my Own? 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