I Am...
Free
"For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
(Romans 8:2)
"For freedom Christ has set you free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
(Galatians 5:1)
We are in the process of trying to sell our house and Sunday morning we had another open house. Last week I was really struggling. I was tired from being up all night far too often with a teething baby and just feeling worn out and defeated. I struggled to find the motivation to keep up with the every day things like laundry and dishes and cleaning up mess after mess after mess...when all I wanted to do was crawl in bed and sleep for eight hours straight without interruption. By Thursday night, I begged my husband to stay home in the evening instead of go on his daily training bike ride.
I cried as he held me until the words came and one word summed it all up - I wondered how I could ever be good enough. I told him about all the times just that day that I had fallen short, losing my temper, lacking patience, speaking words that hurt instead of encouraged. He looked me in the eyes and said, "you are a good mom". Before I could argue, he reminded me of all the things I've done right and, most importantly, of the One who gives me sufficient grace and strength for every one of the times I fail and how His mercies are new every single morning.
Twice more this weekend, completely out of the blue, two more people spoke those same words to me - "you are such a good mom, Steph". Today, as I opened up His words and prayed for Him to speak to my heart and show me who He says I am in Him, I thought of those words and wondered if I could really believe them. I know far better than even my husband does how many times I fail as a mom and I am my own worst critic. But, as I read these words from Romans and Galatians, I was reminded that what He did on the cross freed me from the bondage of every single one of my sins. Yes, I am still living in the flesh and my flesh is sinful, but in Him that sin nature is powerless to defeat me, because He gives power to overcome and He set me free to walk in freedom.
One commentary I read put it this way: "The law of sin and death was a strong and seemingly absolute law. Every sin we commit and every cemetery we see proves it. But the law of the Spirit of life in Christ is stronger still..." I know I am not perfect and I never will be as long as I walk in this body of sin, but I do know the One who calls me to freedom and whose strength is enough to overcome any sin that still holds me in bondage.
The reality is that those chains I still walk around carrying are no longer locked secure and tight, but my "old master" wants me to believe that I am still a slave. John 8:36 says that "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." It doesn't say, "He sets you free...except for that one sin you can never overcome." No, His truth sets you free once and for all and His grace covers it all.
So, instead of believing the lie that I will never be a good enough mom, I am holding on to the truth today that His grace is sufficient and that He has called me to stand firm in the freedom He has called me to. Freedom was bought with a great price, but how often do I take that for granted? Every time I "submit again to a yoke of slavery", struggling to free myself, I only become more entangled in the very sin I am set free from by His great sacrifice. I will never be a perfect mom, but I can be a good mom, by the grace of God and in the strength and power of His freedom - and that truth is more than enough.
Join me on Mondays on a journey to discover and take hold of the truth of who we are in Him.
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