Go with me for a minute as we imagine ourselves in the verse above. Think about those who obey God as being Israel and Judah and those who insist in their own way as being Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans. Now, we're all prone to sin and wander but what truly distinguishes the two is choice. One chose to obey, and when he or she fails gets right back up and on Christ's heels. The other chose to live his life as his own. One chose to trust that what God wants is best and the other chose to trust in himself and his own desires and choices. Now, which one are you?
Every way but God's way contains a series of invisible traps, invisible at least to the human eye. There are constant opportunities to get stuck in bad habits and unhealthy mindsets. The lies just keep taking over like weeds. Of course when you can't see the traps, you can't distinguish the truth from a lie either. The longer we go in this direction, the more lies we take in, as they disguise themselves as wisdom and truth. It is called bondage.
Bondage are those lies we refuse to release. The more we hold on to whatever thought system we have been taught, the less we let in the truth. Our choices can place us in bondage or in freedom.
I'm not talking about rules. Most rules have traps too. I'm not talking about striving and trying to "be good enough". It is crucial that when we give our heart to Christ, we surrender our minds too. After all, we're all serving someone.
Satan wants us to believe lies so we won't believe God's truths. He wants to keep us from His love and from fulfilling a purpose in Him. Satan wants us useless to the kingdom of God. But God will fight for us. He won't make us do anything. Unlike Satan, He offers a choice. But with every choice comes some impact.
God wants us free so we can be fertile soil, constantly learning from Him. We can't do that if there is any single lie we cling to. We may not even know we're clinging to something until God sweeps the dust off it, and then speaks into us something different. Those are defining moments for our freedom. Do we let go of what was for what is and do we resist any other knowledge?
Depending on our level of stubbornness and teachability, we may need to be completely broken, become what feels like an utter destruction, in order to get free. Sometimes, often, in many cases, some still prefer broken to the truth. But He will war for us even when it feels like He is warring against us. He will also offer us a choice. And it is amazing that choice is our biggest part- because He does the hardest work. We simply need to repent and follow.
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