10/15/2026
I’m back after a little time away, and it feels good to be here for Faithful Thursday again. 🤍
Lately I’ve been thinking about what true freedom really looks like.
The world gives us a lot of places to put our hope. Politics. Success. Approval. Money. Comfort. People. But none of those things can carry the weight of our soul.
Our only true hope is Jesus.
Sin has a way of taking us farther than we ever intended to go. What starts small can slowly begin changing our hearts, our choices, and the person we're becoming. That's why we have to deal with it while it's small. Bring it to Jesus. Surrender it. Stop protecting the very thing He's trying to free you from.
It's easy to act like Jesus when we're being praised. The real test comes when we're criticized, misunderstood, or treated unfairly.
What's driving our decisions?
Because if we live our lives trying to please the crowd, eventually we'll be tempted to disobey Christ just to keep people happy.
Hard seasons can make us think something has gone wrong. Sometimes the journey gets difficult and we assume we must've missed God somewhere along the way.
But difficulty does not mean Jesus is absent.
Paul’s circumstances were hard. He faced accusations, imprisonment, uncertainty, powerful rulers, and suffering. Yet his suffering never became the center of his story.
Jesus remained the center.
That has made me ask myself some uncomfortable questions.
If I really believe Jesus is alive, does the way I live show it?
If someone examined my life the way Paul’s life was examined, what would they find?
Would the way I respond to criticism point people toward Jesus?
Would the way I love make people curious about Him?
Long before people hear what we believe, they're watching how we live.
You can have the approval.
The success.
The money.
The position.
The things.
You can gain everything this world has to offer and still be empty without Jesus.
Paul stood in rooms with people who had power, status, influence, and wealth, yet he had something they desperately needed.
A relationship with Jesus.
Our circumstances may change, but our calling does not.
We are still called to represent Him.
We are still called to love well.
We are still called to stand on truth.
We are still called to live like we really believe He is alive.
What if God is doing something meaningful in the middle of what feels chaotic?
What if the hard part of the journey is not proof that He's left us, but another place where He's asking us to trust Him?
The world will offer us a thousand versions of freedom, but true freedom is only found in Christ.
Everyone needs Jesus.
At the end of the day, I do not want my suffering, my success, my opinions, my mistakes, or my circumstances to become the center of my story.
I want Jesus there. 🤍
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
Matthew 16:25-26
My prayer for us:
Father, help us keep You at the center when everything around us is competing for our attention. Show us the places where we've been seeking approval, holding onto sin, or putting our hope in things that were never meant to carry it. Give us courage to surrender quickly, love people well, stand firmly on Your truth, and trust You even when the road becomes difficult. Let the way we live make people curious about the hope we have in You. When life feels chaotic, remind us that You are still present, still working, and still worthy of our trust.
In Jesus Name,
Amen. 🤍
