This world is full of false freedoms. You could call them addictions; addictions that can hinder your faith. While your heart desires to walk faithfully in Christ, your flesh desires something else, thus your wants and desires come in conflict with Jesus sitting on the throne in your heart. In this conflict is where expectations are born. They lead to disappointments and distress, and you cope in whatever way will work for you in that moment.
What you find is that your coping mechanism isn’t very helpful in the long run.
Tim Keller describes how the relief from a disappointment or some kind of distress is not what it ends up being. “You know how addiction works. It starts like this: There’s some kind of disappointment or distress in your life. As a result, you choose to deal with that distress with an agent; it might be sex, it might be drugs, it might be alcohol. The agent promises transcendence. The agent promises freedom, a sense of being in control, a sense of being above all this, a sense of being liberated, a sense of escape. So you do it. But when you do it, when you take the addicting agent as a way of dealing with life, the trap is set.”
Hannah Whitall Smith gives the answer to being released from the trap; the trap set by Satan to keep you from experiencing the presence of Christ. The false freedom that what you want is better than what God has for you, and you look around instead of up. “No soul can be really at rest until it has given up all dependence on everything else and has been forced to depend on the Lord alone. As long as our expectation is from other things, nothing but disappointment awaits us.”
Notice what John Fawcett says about a trap set for many people and why God allows adversity to interrupt their lives. It’s a false freedom that is plaguing the United States. “Losses and disappointments are the trials of our faith, our patience, and our obedience. When we are in the midst of prosperity, it is difficult to know whether we have a a love for the Benefactor or only for His benefits. It is in the midst of adversity that our piety is put to the trial.”
Are you experiencing disappointments? Are you facing any hardships? The Bible says to rejoice and be glad; see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 and Romans 5:3-5. This will be quite contrary to how you want to respond, but God says to remember who He is, recall how He is faithful to you, and be thankful. Find the good that is all around you. Pay attention to how you think about things. Your thoughts dictate your attitude, what you say, and how you respond. Fill up with God’s Word. That is the greatest line of defense in keeping yourself from believing the false freedoms that are around you.
How does a believer keep from following false freedoms? Here are few truths to follow: 1. Separate yourself from the ways of the world. You can’t be friends with it; see James 4:4 and 2 Corinthians 6:17. 2. Change your thought patterns to align them with scripture; see Romans 12:2. 3. Stop loving the things in this world; see 1 John 2:15-17. 4. God chose you to become His child. Choose to live differently; see 1 Peter 2:9 and Philippians 3:20. 5. Ask God to keep your vision clear and bright; see 2 Corinthians 4:4 and 1 John 2:16.
The Bible is full of truths to keep you from backsliding into worldly ways that are false freedoms. Peter urges every believer in 1 Peter 2:11-12a, “Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary residents and foreigners’ to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors.” It matters how you live. God is using you to help others look to God and believe. He cannot use you when you are addicted to worldly things. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.”
Allow God to redirect your thoughts back to focusing on Jesus. Bask in His presence for He is your true freedom.
Carol J German 