Learning to wait for, listen, and hope only in Christ, leads to revelation and liberation.

“If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

A Good Start

Upon awakening, I hungered to abide in Christ throughout the day without wavering. So, determined to focus only on the hope of the gospel in all challenges throughout the day, I began to prepare for work.

I entered the day filled with the Spirit and was so excited to see what He would do, optimistic that I could go through the day without breaking fellowship with the Lord.

Caught Off Guard

Not much later, suddenly, I was blasted by an action of a loved one that deeply insulted me and was a historical pattern in that relationship. My insides were burning. In my verbal response to the person’s comments, I was immediately aware that my motives were wrong and from angry feelings. I knew if I pursued the conversation from these emotions, it would not bear good fruit. So I decided it would not be wise to pursue the issue further.

My gut revealed my intense struggle with their unjust and disrespectful behavior. It was difficult to accept the wrong and get over it. I was furious at a deep internal level. I wanted to lash out, but instead, I waited for Him to answer the distress of my soul. This grace comes from resting in Christ and relying upon Him to manage my inward conflict.

Retreat to the Lord to Overcome

I retreated into a private room to be with God and stubbed my toe as I went. Nevertheless, this was a fitting event because I was stumbling in more ways than that.

As I ruminated for a time on the matter, my mind surveyed all the terrible fruit this person’s similar actions have caused over the years because of this pattern.  I kept waiting for the Lord, acknowledging that I needed to hear from Him.

Then, after about ten minutes, as my anger subsided, I had a sense of being ok to return to the table of interaction. On the way back, I stubbed my toe yet again! Perhaps a reminder? (I can only remember one time in the last few years that I stubbed my toe. We finished the interaction amicably because of my relatively pleasant demeanor – despite the wrong I incurred, and I moved on with some tasks.

Revelation

About an hour later, as I was engaged in a mundane task, the word of the Lord came to me, and my heart was given understanding. I suddenly saw that my anger was not because of the other’s unjust actions at all!

I could see that this kind of action had so much power over me because I had a deep root of idolatry inside. In other words, I secretly worshiped an image of myself. So this was nothing less than a direct attack on that beloved image – how I wanted to see myself and to be seen.

I was taken aback, but in a wonderful way.  As the light of Christ exposed the darkness in my soul, that light also liberated me from its power over me. I was immediately cleansed from the residual anger I had in my gut. There was a sense of cleanness in my soul. I realized that all the anger I had felt was rooted in my own soul and not actually “caused” by the other person’s actions. It felt as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders.  A picture arose in my mind of a future of living free in a way I have never before experienced. My optimism soared. I was at peace with myself.

Joy

What a joy! This is what Christian freedom looks like. There was exaltation and thanksgiving in my heart. My real foe was crushed before my eyes – the foe of my attachment to this image. My cruel master was cast down before me! I hadn’t realized this thing’s hold on me, how it lived in me.

It also emerged in my understanding that I had always been the source of the ancillary damage from this other person’s unkindness. This secondary damage came because of how deeply it had always infuriated me. No matter how much I had tried to hide my rage, it had been poisoning me internally all these years.

Deepening Understanding

All the history of anger toward this and others was my own folly—years of slavery to that false god. Yet without the cross, operating from my abiding in Christ’s rest, I would have remained under its cruel sway all the rest of my days. But, instead, there I was, walking and rejoicing in Him and His liberty! How many people live inescapably under these internal bondages because they do not know Christ accurately?

The Lord also furthered my understanding that the worship of the image of self was a hidden driving force behind so much of what we do as men. For example, the nature of much male competition, whether in sports, relationships, business, etc., was probably rooted in this subtle but powerful idolatry. Wow!

The Church is Struggling

Moreover, the Church is poisoned with this terrible disease. We unknowingly oppress others by striving for position, status, and honor. As Jesus asked, “How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (Jn. 5:44). This shows us that it is the norm to secretly exalt these things in our hearts, even though we live in denial of their power over us.

Friends, there is only one avenue to liberation from these things. No psychologist or philosophy of life can cleanse us from ourselves. No social or political solution liberates like this. Only as we learn to live in the light of Christ’s sacrifice for us can we begin to taste this kind of freedom.

An Invitation

Open the door of your heart this day to the one who paid for your liberation from the tyranny of our sinful nature over us. As God brought Israel out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, so will He bring all those that hope in His salvation alone.

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free?’

Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'” (Jn. 8:31-36).

For more understanding of the ideas behind this article, check out https://christianityrediscovered.com/cross-based- living-a-better-way/

and also https://christianityrediscovered.com/do-you-know-how-to-move-mountains/ 

Also, see here.