The other day I was helping with a local mission basically doing an extreme home makeover on a local woman’s home. I did a number of things while we were there, but by far the most physically taxing involved pulling up some footstones in the backyard that had likely been there for decades. The stones were about 12 by 12 and 2 or 3 inches thick. We had to really hunt for them because over the years they had become covered with dirt. Roots were even starting to grow over them. They had no plans to let us remove them without a battle.
It was physically demanding work. But what made it worse was the tool we were given to do it. All we had was what appeared to be a cheap children’s garden shovel. The wooden handle was maybe 3 feet long and the head of the shovel was small and flimsy. It must have appeared comical to others to watch one of us desperately trying to get a corner of a stone loosed and lifted enough for the other to get a hand under it to wrestle it out. With each stone the head of the shovel would bend into all different shapes. We would then reshape it and head to the next stone.
But it was clear: we did not have the right tool for the job.
After muscling and struggling our way through about 30 of these stones, a man came by with a solid, REAL grown up looking hoe. With what looked to us like zero effort, he stuck the head under the last stone and simply shook it loose with the flick of a wrist. I couldn’t help but think of how much time and energy we would have saved if we had had that hoe the whole time. We would have had the right tool for the job.
Entering into freedom is hard work. But the work is made much easier if we have the right tools.
Part of what I want to do here in Freed to Soar is to help you identify ways that you are stuck—lies that you believe, areas of unbelief and unforgiveness, etc. But, that is not the end goal. The end goal is becoming freed from those things. It isn’t just about finding those buried stones. It is about ripping them out. It is coming to believe the truth. It is coming to forgiveness. It is about loosing the chains that keep you in bondage.
That kind of freedom doesn’t come just through reading. It doesn’t come through mere understanding. It comes through work.
So, along with posts about the lies and the other instruments of enslavement, I will throw in some articles about the various “Freedom tools” we can employ to break the chains—to get us “unstuck.” Some of these tools may be obvious; others less so. Some will feel uncomfortable—“I’ve never used a power tool.” Some will feel awkward– “That ax looks too heavy for me.” You may be tempted to try another way.
I would encourage you in those moments, to be brave! I promise I am not a sadistic person just waiting to see you awkwardly swing a sledge hammer so that I can laugh at you or critique your form. I’ll never forget the first time I used a pry bar. I was a teenager on a mission trip. I was supposed to pull a nail out of the wall. Instead I put a big hole right through the dry wall. It was embarrassing. It was discouraging. But it was all a part of the process. I didn’t let that end my home repair career. Instead I learned from my mistakes and today I think any of you could trust me with that tool in your own homes.
So, I would encourage you now, before I say a word about what these tools are, to give them a shot.
Even if the word in the title makes you shiver and want to run away. Even if you think: “I’ve tried that and it didn’t work.” Please give them a shot! Heck, give them a few shots because we rarely get things right on the first try. And please try them knowing that these are methods and practices I have used and I have seen others use for years to break free.
And more than anything, remember that we are in this together and more than anything, I am here to cheer you on. Let’s get free together!