Secret Bondage

Ephesians 2, "Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature... But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!) ...God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."

The salvation that Christ bought for us, is so wonderful. We have done nothing that has earned our forgiveness. It does not matter if you have lived your life, doing everything right. It does not matter if you thought at one time, you had sold your soul to Satan. Christ came and paid for you. I have done nothing to earn my freedom. Christ paid my debt, so that I could be free! It is up to me to live in that freedom; it is a choice I have to make every day.

So many times we choose to be in bondage. We can be Christians, living a very good life in Christ and still be in bondage. This bondage is secrets. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, this morning reads, "Never be sympathetic with a person whose situation causes you to conclude that God is dealing harshly with him. God can be more tender than we can conceive, and every once in a while He give us the opportunity to deal firmly with someone so that He may be viewed as the tender one. If a person cannot go to God, it is because he has some secret which he does not intend to give up..." These past few days I have been dealing with secrets in so many people's lives. It is crazy! The different lies that Satan can tell us in order to stay in bondage is amazing.

My true freedom came, when I finally let go of my secrets. I truly have no secrets. In this I have found a freedom that I cannot explain. Secrets, no matter how small, are the dark shadow hanging over every conversation, and getting between every relationship. I do not think that you have to go around telling everyone you meet your entire story. But if you feel you are holding on to a secret and God is asking you to let it go, you better. "Otherwise there will be no healing."

My marriage was suffering because of my secrets. I had no secrets from my husband, but God was asking me to let go of my secrets and to give Him His glory. In holding firm to my secrets, I was not living as Christ intended me to live. He was not getting credit for everything in my life. I was holding parts of my life for me and not sharing His full glory. And because I was not doing everything that the Holy Spirit was telling me to do, I was not living free. Many times we admit what we have done, but we have not given it up. Give up your secrets, so that you can live. Do not choose the easy way out. For what we see as the easy way, is usually not God's way. He deals with things, head on. He never hides. There is always a fear in revealing secrets; that is why we have them. Christ has paid the price for our freedom. Why would we choose to be in bondage?