{"id":816,"date":"2019-01-28T06:00:50","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T06:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=816"},"modified":"2019-01-24T21:38:18","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T21:38:18","slug":"protect-freedom-im-now-experiencing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2019\/01\/protect-freedom-im-now-experiencing.html","title":{"rendered":"How Do I Protect the Freedom I’m Now Experiencing?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"unsplash-logoJakob
Jakob Owens<\/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 EIGHT: day 1<\/strong> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Establish <\/i>guardrails<\/i><\/b> to protect your freedom<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

How do I protect the freedom I\u2019m now experiencing?<\/i> By this point in the freedom process you\u2019ve begun to experience what freedom feels like, even if it\u2019s in fits and starts. Perhaps for the first time in years you\u2019ve begun to have hope that freedom can be in your future. Now you have to protect the freedom you\u2019ve begun to experience. As fragile as it might be, you need to protect the freedom you\u2019re now experiencing so that you can build off of it and create powerful momentum moving forward. But how do you do that? So often the recovery process seems like one step forward and two steps back. You can see all of your gains wiped out in one bad night or one bad decision. How can you make sure you\u2019re making continual process towards freedom? You need to establish guardrails in your life.<\/span><\/p>\n

The definition of a guardrail (for automobiles) is: a strong fence on the side of a\u00a0 <\/span>road or the middle of an expressway, intended to prevent serious accidents. If you are going to go off the road and crash your vehicle, guardrails are designed to minimize the damage. Sometimes accidents are inevitable, but the severity of the crash can be reduced with guardrails. As inconvenient as it is to have to replace a bumper or even a totaled car, it still beats attending a funeral. The reason guardrails are in the middle of expressways is to ensure that your bad driving doesn\u2019t negatively affect someone else\u2019s life in oncoming traffic. The definition of a guardrail (for freedom) is: self-imposed barriers in your life designed to prevent serious relapse in your life and\/or harm in the lives of others. These self-imposed barriers may seem silly or unnecessary to some, but they are designed to keep you safe and protect your freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

    \n
  1. Have you ever had a car accident? Did a guardrail protect you from further damage?<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. How necessary do you think guardrails are to protect your freedom?<\/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 EIGHT: day 1 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Establish guardrails to protect your freedom How do I protect the freedom I\u2019m now experiencing? By this point in the freedom process you\u2019ve…<\/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":[318,366,115,367],"class_list":["post-816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-10-steps-to-freedom","category-next-steps","tag-freedom","tag-guardrail","tag-guardrails","tag-protect"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Do I Protect the Freedom I'm Now Experiencing? - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Once you begin to experience the first fruits of freedom on your spiritual journey, how can you protect the freedom you're experiencing?\" \/>\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=\"How Do I Protect the Freedom I'm Now Experiencing? 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Josh graduated from New Orleans Seminary with a Masters of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry. Josh has been involved in full-time ministry for over twenty years. He enjoys hiking, beach volleyball, reading, playing anything competitive, and rough-housing with his kids. Josh, his gorgeous wife Robin, his outrageously handsome boys Zeke, Shepherd and Lincoln and his princess Elle, live in northern Virginia. Josh also blogs on Patheos as New Wineskins: an Apologist for the Modern Church and you can find links to all his content on joshdaffern.com. 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