Breaking Free
By Charlene Israel

Don't be limited by chains of a wrong mindset. Get free with God's Word!

Do you ever feel like you are limited? Have you ever felt that God can use others but not you? Do you think of ways to be more effective for the Lord, but you never act on them?

In the words of my pastor during a recent sermon, "A lot of God's people have chains limiting them." He related the story of an elephant that had been chained since childhood. When the elephant grew into an adult, the still-chained animal had the mindset "This is as far as I can go."

As I listened to this story, I began to see that as a Christian, I had been limited in many areas of my life. I was not going far in my walk with God.

The definition of the word limit is "the point, edge, or line beyond which something cannot or may not proceed." It is as if the enemy of my soul has drawn a line in the sand of my life and dares me to cross it. He lies to me, saying, "You are a nobody going nowhere." He does not want me to know the truth: that I can be free and that God has a destiny for me to fulfill. Jesus said, "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free"(John 8:32, KJV).

For most of my life I struggled with chains of rejection, fear and intimidation. Only recently did I begin to recognize that every link in each chain was a lie limiting me, binding me, and grounding my potential. As I looked in the Scriptures, I began to see that my Heavenly Father loved me and had a great plan for my life.

The adult elephant remained bound because it did not know that it had the ability to break free. It was trained as a baby to be bound, and it carried that mindset into adulthood. As the redeemed of the Lord, we have to be transformed by the renewing of our minds to the truth of God's Word.

It says in Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (NAS). If we do not know that we can be free; then we never will be.

To break free of things that have held us back, we must use the power of God's Word to destroy the chains. God's Word is anointed to demolish chains of limitation that pull on us and hold us in bondage. Just having head knowledge of God's Word will not free us. We must have heart knowledge of it. We have to meditate upon God's Word, pray God's Word, and hide it in our hearts. We must use it for the weapon that it is. The Holy Bible says that we are to put on the whole armor of God, and part of the armor is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (see Ephesians 6:10-18). God wants us to use His Word to cut away the chains of limitation.

At this stage in my life, I am putting God's Word into practice. I am now walking in the light and I am agreeing with God that everything He says about me is true. I am saying, "Lord be it unto me according to Your Word and my declaration."

As a child of God you do not have to be limited. You can be all that God wants you to be and do all that He has called you to do. When thoughts of fear and intimidation try to hold you back, dare to agree with God. Find and meditate on Scriptures that will help you to see yourself as God sees you.

As you begin the process of hiding God's Word in your heart and speaking it out of your mouth, remember: "But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits" (Daniel 11:32, KJV).

Do not allow the enemy to hold you back from the purposes and plans God has for you. God can and wants to use you. Begin to dream big, for we serve a big God, and He has more in store for you than you could ever imagine. Tell the devil, "God is with me, God is for me, and I am breaking free!"

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