War boots for flip flops

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Gal 5:1 NIV

“A yoke of slavery” is anything in our human nature that inhibits the very presence of God from operating fully in our lives. Once you have been set free from something that once enslaved you, who would want it back? Yet we struggle with this daily. Why? Because yokes of slavery can be as gripping as addiction or as innocent as tradition. You may not even be aware that you are contending with a yoke of slavery.

If you could be set free from one thing what would it be? Before reading on, pause, and challenge yourself to come up with just one thing.
Still pausing…
I struggled in answering this question. I couldn’t come up with only one thing. Then I realized there is one thing driving the many things that weigh me down.

If I could be set free from one thing it would be the expectations I place on myself. With this freedom I could enjoy my wins and accept my losses. I could look for why God has me in a certain place instead of fighting my way out. I could live in the moment and smile for no reason. I could hear my Heavenly Father’s voice over mine say, “You’re my treasured possession” (Deut. 7:6), instead of “you’re not enough, work harder.”

What does the voice in your head tell you? What expectations do you have for your life that aren’t quite matching up with your reality? Like me, do you find yourself enslaved to the goals you set for your life? Even the Godly goals can become idols if we pursue them in our own strength, instead of His.

Christ came to set us free from ourselves and every good and bad thing we allow to hold us back from His “good, pleasing and perfect will” for our lives (Rom. 12:2). He tells us to “Stand firm” having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Eph 6:15). This means seeking out His will and His ways above our own. When your life is shod with the gospel of peace, you don’t have to hold on so tightly to the things that provide comfort and security. When you are chasing after God, you can “walk about in freedom” because you are seeking out his precepts (Psalm 119:45).

I need army boots to “stand firm” in my own strength, because I need all the protection and stability I can get. But when I allow God to take control, who can stand against? I can kick off the war boots and walk in flip flops.

What desire of your heart are you fighting for in war boots?

How could trading them in for flip flops change your life?

What are you holding onto so tightly?

Wear it like a flip flop. Walk responsibly in it, but always be ready to kick it off and walk into new places with God.

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