Free From the Inside Out

There’s nothing like being free from the inside out!

We feel clean, at peace and at rest with ourselves, others and God. This is what we want and this is what we can have through Jesus.

His intent is to give us life and life to the fullest. This speaks of freedom from the inside out. 

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

John‬ ‭10‬:‭10

But how do we have this in our lives?

The truth is so many people are not free on the inside and therefore battle with shame, fear, guilt, feeling unworthy, hopeless, overwhelmed, defeated, feeling trapped and more. These elements can put us in a prison that robs us from the freedom God has for us.

What’s wild is, we can be a Christian and not be free. We can be a Christian leader and not be free. So, we must let Jesus do a deeper work in us for us to walk out the freedom He has for us.

“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

John‬ ‭8‬:‭36‬

To be free from the inside out requires us to move forward and take steps of faith. This is how we receive anything from God because without faith, it’s impossible to please Him. 

We take steps toward Him, He sets us free. We draw to God, He draws near to us. This is how we receive from God and it’s why we take action through our faith. 

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”

‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭8

So here’s three things we do to be free from the inside out.

First, ask God to forgive us of our sins.

This is basic and yet profound. When we ask God for forgiveness we acknowledge that we’ve done wrong. We can’t move forward in freedom until we acknowledge our wrong and ask to be forgiven through Jesus.

I’ve met a lot of Christian’s who can’t admit they’ve done wrong and because of that, they are stuck. 

For most of us receiving Jesus and repenting of our sins is obvious. But where I’ve seen people get stuck is the willingness to admit when they do wrong to others after they’ve come to Jesus. 

If we can’t admit we’ve done wrong, we won’t be free.

This involves humility and we must ask God to forgive us of our sins to have peace with God.

Second, we forgive ourselves because God forgives us.

This is another layer within us that God wants to heal. When we forgive ourselves shame is broken, guilt is broken, feeling defeated is broken, and feeling powerless is broken. This is how we can have peace with ourselves which is huge for walking in God’s plan for our lives. 

Have you forgiven yourself?

We can do this through Jesus and it’s one layer at a time. The truth is, God’s grace empowers us to be free within ourselves. Please reach for Jesus and receive His freedom in forgiving yourself.

Third, make it right with others.

This is final piece that brings this all together. In fact, when we make it right with others, another layer of the shame, guilt, embarrassment, strife and more is broken off of us.

This is where we can have peace with others. 

For me I’ve personally reached out to people and apologized for the wrong I’ve done. Sometimes their response was open and others were silent or shut down. That’s ok because it wasn’t about what they did, it was about me taking the step to make it right. 

This is important to remember because it’s easy to focus on what they do or don’t do. But freedom is in what we do to move forward and be free from the inside out.

Who can you make it right with today?

I encourage you to move forward and either say sorry or say I forgive you. This is a part of the process of being set free.

Too many Christian’s are not free because they haven’t or won’t take these big steps forward in their lives.

Which of these three can you do today?

Please don’t delay, move forward and live life to the fullest of God’s plan and ability. The time is now to be free from the inside out!

God is with you and the best is yet to come,

PD