Hey there! Welcome to our cozy home bible fellowship here in Raleigh. Ever feel like life has you in a mental straitjacket? You're not alone! We’ve all been there, wrestling with thoughts that weigh us down. But guess what? God’s got a get-out-of-jail-free card for our minds! Today, we're diving into some divine strategies for breaking free from those pesky mental chains and living a life of freedom, power, and abundance. So grab your favorite drink, get comfy, and let's get liberated!
In order to live an abundant life, a person must be free from mental bondage. The chains that bind one's mind are more painful and defeating than any other. In order to break the chains, we must first become aware about the freedom that has been offered to us. We must learn what has been made available to us, how we can receive it, and how to apply it to our lives in order to free our minds. This article is about the first steps that a person must take in order to break free from mental bondage and live an abundant, powerful life, which is a gift from God.
Right now, take a look at the people around you. Look across the table. Look outside. Look at the folks walking around your neighborhood. Many of them are actually in prison. They're prisoners of their own mindset. I believe every person can be released from their prison, every prison, or the binding chains that encase the mind and make people suffer. There are spiritual truths that have been given to us so that we can learn how to live with freedom, power, and abundance - free from mental bondage.
In John 8:31, 32, 36 of the Amplified Bible, Jesus is talking to his friends, and teaching them, and he says in verse 31, "If you continue in my word (if you hold onto to my teachings and live according to them), you are truly my disciples. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. 36 So if the Son liberates you [makes you a free man], then you are really and unquestionably free."
These three verses contain the key to being released from your prison, breaking the mental chains, and living free. We must believe the spiritual truths written in God's Word, which have been made readily available to us. And then, we must know the Son, the Son of God, who is the way, the truth, and the life. By knowing the truth and knowing his Son, we will be really and unquestionably free.
Prisons. There are all kinds of prisons. Prisons are not just made of concrete and steel bars. There are prisons in people's lives that are the secret things they think about and hold onto, the things they don't share with anyone. They are the most frustrating and defeating things. They are thoughts of condemning or blaming oneself, thoughts of not being good enough, not being beautiful enough, or not smart enough. People can have thoughts that gnaw at the back of their minds, conscious and subconscious minds, for years and years. People can have dwelling, continual thoughts of sickness, disease, fear, worry, doubt, confusion, anxiety, suicide, and death. These are the worst, tormenting kinds of prisons.
I believe it's not God's will for us to be so mentally bound. God's will is just the opposite. God has given us a gift of total release from all darkness in our lives.
In Psalms 103:11 and 12 in the Amplified Bible, it is written in verse 11 that just as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are God's mercies and loving kindness toward those who respect God. Verse 12 continues that as far as the east is from the west, so far has our transgressions been removed from us. Transgression here means a mistake, something bad that you did, or a failure.
So as we see in Psalms, all self-condemnation is to be gone from us, because God wants us to be free. Not halfway free, but all the way free. A totally free person.
God has provided us a way to be free from all the powers of darkness in this world, free from resentments, from pride, from envying, from jealousies, and from obsessions and oppressions that may have been eating away at us. These evil, cunning influences lead only to imprisonment. We want to be released from these prisons. And there is a way that has been provided to us, a way by which people may recognize and receive a greater and more wonderful power than they have ever known. And those who are willing to believe can be released from every prison that imprisons, binds, and suppresses their lives.
Hebrew 4:2 in the 21st Century King James version says, "For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith (believing) in those who heard it."
So, we must not only know what's available and hear what's available, but we must also believe it. We are to mix believing with the spiritual truths taught to us so that they are profitable to us. Because believing equals receiving.
A camera's lens is a good analogy to the means by which we can believe and get results to prayer and find freedom from mental bondage. If you want an answer to prayer, think about taking a picture with a camera or your phone. First, get the subject in mind. Select what you want in your picture. This is step one: get clear, "see" what you want or need. Go ahead. Take this moment to think about taking a picture of something with the "something" in your mind. Maybe it's something you need. Maybe it's something that you're thankful for having, or expecting to have. Move your camera, and put that into the picture.
Step two is to get focused. Use the lens and range finder and focus on the subject. Spend time here. And get into the details. Focus.
When you're focused on what you want in your life, really focused, simply take the picture. Focus on the picture of what you want, and keep your mind stayed on it. If you allow something to distract you from what you're focused on, you'll get a blurred answer to your prayer. You won't get the results you intended. You won't get released from the prison that holds you.
James 1:6 and 7 says, "6 But he must ask [for wisdom] in believing, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. 7 For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord." Wow. Focused believing in prayer is the antidote to being tossed about by the winds of the world. No one should expect to receive an answer to prayer without praying (or asking) with a focused believing action and without any doubt of the results.
If we want to get rid of something from our lives today, we must focus. We must focus or dwell upon what we want or need. It's the introduction of light that dispels darkness, not the dwelling on the darkness. If you want more success and achievement, if you want more business, better relations between you and the ones you love, if you want a sound mind and a more healthy body, then get what you need and desire in mind, point your camera and put it in the picture, then focus on it, and then pray without doubt and with believing. Then, take the picture. And change your thinking.
Right now, take a moment. Think about a situation in your life that isn't yet the best. And change your mind. Immediately change your mind and the way you think about a situation in your life. When you change the way you think about things, those things change. Change the subject of your focused and clear thoughts. As you change your thinking, you will create a pattern of what you're concerned about in your life and about what you want to see light up in your life.
Get clear and concerned. Get clear on what you need. Then get concerned about receiving it. Seek the truth. Know the truth, eat it, drink it, walk it and talk it, get concerned about it, dwell upon it, be mindful about it, continue in the truth, and that truth will set you free. And the result will be a total release from any prison. It can be done.
Philippians 4:13 says that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.
It can be done. It will be done. You can do it. And that's my advice to you.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, folks! Breaking free from mental bondage isn’t just a pipe dream; it’s a divine promise! By focusing on God’s truths, embracing the freedom Jesus offers, and making those powerful mental shifts, we can shake off those chains and step into an abundant life. Remember, it’s all about changing your lens, focusing on the good stuff, and believing without a shadow of a doubt. Let’s keep our minds clear, our hearts open, and our spirits ready to receive all the amazing things God has for us. You got this, and with God’s help, we can do all things!
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