Life

Last week we talked about how we belong to God. The enemy has done a great job at painting God to be a villain. So many people think being a Christian is a set of dos and don’ts. That we lose our freedom when we surrender to God, what lies!! When I chose to live life my way, I had crippling anxiety. Literally could not hold a pen in my hand to save my life. Had to do my last few exams of College in a room by myself sitting in front of a computer listening to music so I could calm down enough to hear myself think.

There was no freedom, I was a slave to the anxiety. It decided what I could and could not do. I was also, at the same time, a slave to depression. It told me life would always be that way and there was no hope in the future. I was in a cold dark hole that I could not climb out of. But praise God that 2000 years ago on Calvary, Jesus bled and died for me and paid the price for my freedom. Because of that, there was no prison the enemy could put me in that Jesus could not break me out of!

Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Jesus did not redeem us so He could enslave us. He redeemed us so we could experience true freedom. Outside of Jesus we do not know what freedom is. Only in Jesus have I found true freedom! I am free! Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].”

That does not sound like a God who is trying to restrict and confine my life but an invitation to a wide-open space where anything is possible. I could have never imagined living the life I am living now. Jesus paid such a high price for us, not so we could all become rich like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos but so we could have a life that is rich in relationships, friendships, peace, joy, love, kindness, goodness, communion with God, Holy Spirit wisdom and empowerment and so much more.

Life is not limited to what’s in the bank. There is no amount of money that would make me want to go back to the time when I was terrified and could not sleep at night. I would stay up all night because I could sense all the evil that seems to crank up between the hours or 2-4am. I was too scared to sleep until Jesus stepped into the situation and helped me realise that with Him, I am always safe.  There are some things that money can’t buy and if we go to Jesus expecting a huge payout or expecting Santa who gives us whatever is on our wish list, we will be greatly disappointed.

However, if we come to Jesus expecting Him to renovate the way we see things so we can experience the life He promised us in abundance, we will never be disappointed. Romans 5:1-5 says, “Our faith in Jesus transfers God’s righteousness to us and he now declares us flawless in his eyes.  This means we can now enjoy true and lasting peace  with God, all because of what our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, has done for us. Our faith guarantees us permanent access into this marvelous kindness  that has given us a perfect relationship with God. What incredible joy bursts forth within us as we keep on celebrating our hope of experiencing God’s glory!

But that’s not all! Even in times of trouble we have a joyful confidence, knowing that our pressures  will develop in us patient endurance. And patient endurance will refine our character, and proven character leads us back to hope. And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy,  because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!”

Talk about living, that sounds to me like a life worth living! A life empowered by God who has unlimited resources in anything we could ever need pertaining to life. If there is anything God’s word tells us not to do, it is because God is a good Father and any good parent would stop their kid from following a stranger just because they said they have some candy in their car. The promise from the enemy always sounds enticing but the end result is always devastating. God is a good Father. Boundaries are good for us, they keep us safe. They were never meant to restrict us but to actually give us freedom to enjoy life.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano