Several months ago, I was sent this song from a friend.  We have talked about our battle against fear and anxiety on more than one occasion.  The song, No Longer Slaves has became my anthem in my battle against letting the shackles of fear continue to hold me back in my life.  If you haven’t heard it, oh please listen:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8TkUMJtK5k

I can’t listen to this song without closing my eyes and worshiping.  It strikes to my very core.  Claiming that I am “no longer a slave” helps me envision those shackles breaking.  Every step I take in faith shatters another chain that has held me back far too long.  I know that when I gave my life to the Lord, He unlocked the chains. I’ve sat there for years in the prison of fear with unlocked chains and refused to actually remove them from my limbs.  Over the past few years, I’ve taken a few shaky steps out of that prison.  It just seems like what I’ve repeatedly done is take a few steps out, let a lie straight from hell zap all of that progress, not listened to the truths in scripture and run back to those “safe” shackles.  I mean they do feel secure around my wrists and I know what to expect there.  Leaving them behind is far more risky.  I’m praying that 2016 will be the year that I finally leave them behind for good.  The year that all the links to the chains that held me back will be shattered and there will be no shackles left.  No prison to even be seen.  Freedom.  No longer a slave.  That’s what I’m claiming over my life.

My favorite line in this song is “He split the sea so I could walk right through it.  My fears are drowned in perfect love.”  He is not asking us to do this on our own.  He is splitting that sea for us.  He is making the way.  There is a HUGE “but” though.  He splits the sea BUT we have to walk through it.  We have to trust that if He is making the way, that He is not splitting the sea only to drown us there. I wonder how many times in my life that He has split the sea for me, but I looked ahead at the raging waters on either side and looked back at certain imprisonment and chose to go back?  The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for 430 years.  For 430 years they had prayed for deliverance.  I picture them looking up at the raging sea on either side and looking back at the Egyptians.  They had a choice to make too.  Go back to slavery and possibly death or cross through the raging sea.  I’m sure neither choice seemed appealing at that moment.  They had no idea what the future held for them on the other side of that sea.  They completely knew what waited for them if they didn’t cross it.  While the past had been horrific, it was familiar.  Trusting God is risky.  They took that step.  What happened after that? He fought for them.  He took care of the enemies that were chasing them and they were no longer a threat.

Did that mean that from that point on they didn’t have to fight fear and doubt? Oh good heavens no.  If you look at the book of Exodus, what you will discover is a group of people who develop amnesia about God’s faithfulness.  He fights for them, He delivers them and the second things get hard they are doubting His goodness once more.  I’ve always been annoyed by that and yet… I do the exact. same. thing.  My prayer is that I will remember His deliverance.  That when my fears scream loud, that His promises will be louder in my ears.  What are you a slave to?  What sea is He splitting for you?  Will you take that step to freedom?  Will you remember times in the past that He has delivered you and trust that He can do it again?  I’m praying that you will.  I’m quickly discovering that freedom feels so much better than chains ever could.