{"id":740,"date":"2019-01-11T06:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T06:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=740"},"modified":"2019-01-12T16:04:14","modified_gmt":"2019-01-12T16:04:14","slug":"finding-freedom-like-moving-couch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2019\/01\/finding-freedom-like-moving-couch.html","title":{"rendered":"Finding Freedom is Like Moving Your Couch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"unsplash-logoJulie
Julie Johnson<\/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 5<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Let\u2019s say that you had a large couch that for some reason you had to carry around with you wherever you went. Every place, every day. The couch represents all of the junk, all of the mistakes, all of the guilt, all of the things keeping you from freedom. Now the weight of the couch isn\u2019t really the issue. It\u2019s more the shape and size. It\u2019s bulky, it\u2019s hard to get your arms around, and it quickly becomes exhausting. After awhile, having to drag that couch (your junk) around with you wherever you go influences where you go and what you do. And in the end, the most tempting thing is to give in, to sit down square in the middle of your junk and not go anywhere. That\u2019s where many people find themselves when it comes to their junk, their mistakes, and their guilt. It\u2019s exhausted them and so now they\u2019ve given up and they\u2019re sitting in it.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what if you weren\u2019t alone in trying to carry your couch? What if you had three friends, and they each agreed to lift a corner of the couch? The weight of the couch hasn\u2019t lessened. The shape and the size of the couch hasn\u2019t changed. And yet the couch itself has become something bearable, something doable. You can begin to get your life back, a life of freedom. All of that happens because of the power of together. Together isn\u2019t easy. The easy route is to tough it out on your own, but the easy route always leads to isolation. You need a herd. You need a tribe. You need a family. It may be family members. It may be co-workers. It may be friends or people with whom you go to church. It may be your neighbors. Find together. Find freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

    \n
  1. Who are the neighbors on your street? What are some practical things you can do to build community with them?<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Who in your life needs you to bring the power of together to them? Who needs you to lift a corner of their couch to make their burden more bearable?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5SpSTxNL9s0<\/p>\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 5 Do life\u00a0together Let\u2019s say that you had a large couch that for some reason you had to carry around with you wherever you went. Every place, every day.…<\/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":[360,317,318],"class_list":["post-740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-10-steps-to-freedom","category-next-steps","tag-couch","tag-free","tag-freedom"],"yoast_head":"\nFinding Freedom is Like Moving Your Couch - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Everyone has junk in their lives, and it's as fun to carry around as if you had to physically take a couch with you wherever you went.\" \/>\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=\"Finding Freedom is Like Moving Your Couch - Next Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everyone has junk in their lives, and it's as fun to carry around as if you had to physically take a couch with you wherever you went.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2019\/01\/finding-freedom-like-moving-couch.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=\"2019-01-11T06:00:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-12T16:04:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/files\/2019\/01\/julie-johnson-718696-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":"Finding Freedom is Like Moving Your Couch - 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