Christian Writers Circle

Freedom in the Spirit
by Judy Hitson

2 Cor. 3:17 NLT For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Do you know the Lord?

Have you received the Holy Spirit?

If you answered yes to these questions, then you may recall times you tasted freedom in the Spirit. Praise God, His Spirit gives life, John 6:63; 2 Cor. 3:6.

Let us heed the Lord’s instructions to walk and live in the Spirit and not lust after the flesh, Gal. 5:16, 25.

It is only possible to walk in the Spirit and to walk in love by the Holy Spirit. For where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.

A thought keeps coming to mind that I believe is from the Lord. That is “free will.”
It is vital to use our God given free will to make right choices. We all can relate to times in life we made a wrong choice. We can probably relate to times we made a good choice but discovered it was not the best choice. Let’s face it, in order to have freedom in the Spirit, we must choose by an act of our will to go God’s way, not our way. We cannot live our own selfish way or the world’s way and expect to have God’s freedom in the Spirit in our lives.  

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus tells us who are His sheep, that we hear His voice, He knows us and we follow Him, John 10:27.

How can we hear His voice?
By His Spirit in us.
John 16:13 NKJV However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

We see in the latter verses how the Lord speaks to us as our Good Shepherd and how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. It is a profound blessing to learn to hear God’s voice. The next blessing for us to grasp is for the Spirit to speak through us, Matt. 10:20  NLT For it is not you who will be speaking –it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Pause and take time for reflection. Pray Ps. 139: 23-24 ERV
God, examine me and know my mind,
Test me and know all my worries,
Make sure that I am not going the wrong way,
Lead me on the path that has always been right.