Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM!
I can honestly tell you that I have heard this statement thousands of times. I’ve heard it my whole life, as long as I can remember. I mean, for the most part, I have spent the last 23 years of my life going to a church.
I heard this statement so much in my life, that I had forgotten there was a meaning behind it. I knew there were some people that said it for a reason. I also knew that there were others like me that only said it because they were taught to say it. It was based on TRUTH, no doubt about it. However, for me, it held no more meaning. It was like saying “the sky is blue”, but not realizing the science behind why or the reasons why it was blue. In reality, I guess you could say that it was more like I had never truly seen a “blue sky” for myself.
Here is when something amazing happened.
Last week, I went to training camp for The World Race. I got to spend a week camping with a group of strangers. In a matter of days, these strangers had become family. We showed up not knowing what to expect. By the end of the week, we had all experienced something amazing. For me, that was FREEDOM.
Camp was extreme. In a mere 48 hours, I had gone through some intense therapy. 2 days into camp felt more like 2 months. I learned things, saw things, felt things, experienced things that literally brought me to my knees. There was so much heartache at that time as I reflected on things in my past. People I had loved and lost. Mistakes I had made. Secrets that I had hidden from those closest to me. There was a moment that I was so broken from the inside out, I couldn’t even stand up. Then, the heartache slowly but surely began to be replaced with something new. I felt this overwhelming Forgiveness and Love. Something was changing inside of me. I was experiencing the Gospel in a whole new way.
One night, my squad and I ate dinner around a campfire. We cooked our food, shared some laughs, and had small talk about life in general. Then, one person shared something deep, something so intimate that no one had ever heard before. As they shared their story, the mood began to change. Then, another person shared and another and another. Stories (some similar to what I experienced) began to pour out of us in waves. Here we were, complete strangers. Suddenly, we had become family. And in that moment, I finally saw it: my blue sky. Every story that was told, every testimony of redemption shared, you could see FREEDOM.
I have found that with most of us there is an constant, underlying fear that our deepest, darkest secrets will one day be revealed. However, around that campfire, we put all fears aside and shared those secrets with each other. After all, where there is light, darkness cannot hide. That day, we shed light. In that light, we found something life-changing. We found love, grace, peace, joy, forgiveness, and acceptance. 48 strangers came together with 48 different stories that had 1 thing in common: we were all loved by God. And in that love, we were made FREE. Free from guilt. Free from shame. Free from fear.
Something has changed in my life forever since that day. I will now boast in my weaknesses. For when I am weak, He is strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
