Welcome to Buoy, a Life in Deeper Water podcast.

Episode 40. I Claim My Independence (through a sovereign God)

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Hello human.

Jesus has given me freedom to live the life God intended for me.

Ephesians 3:12

12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

My witness journey is my approach—the getting specific, getting personal, about what an independent heart in Christ does.

It is about how to claim independence. The divine kind.

In the power of Paul’s witness in Ephesians, what does my approach to God “with freedom and confidence” look like, what does my prayer to God sound like, that is done boldly, openly, with the assurance of my Savior’s blood?

I was born in Independence, Kansas.

When I was seven, we went on a vacation to Lake Texoma. We stayed in a hotel with what seemed like a gazillion floors. This was my first experience with an elevator. I was obsessed with the buttons, the speed, the opening and closing doors, the up, the down, and all the different people getting off and on. It was like a game. So, the first chance I had I slipped out of our room and made my way to the elevator bank. I pressed the button, hopped on, and as the elevator stopped at various floors to pick up people, I pushed the button for them. I rode up and down several times, and then, one stop too many, as the doors open and my dad and stepmother got on, looking for me. I said, “What floor, please?”

They looked surprised. Then, well… parental.

But I was full of a new found joy that freedom brings, the freedom to do what you must do.  You just can’t help yourself.

I started out independent from day one. Confident in how to explore my backyard, my town, how to climb a tree, how to engage in a game, a new class, an assignment, a job, a move across the country, a new culture, a relationship…

Not Enough on My Own

I was good at claiming independence until the day I knew it was not enough. I was not enough to do what God had put in my heart to do. So, I gave everything God first gave me—back to Him—because of what His Son did for me.

Because through Jesus, I can approach God with freedom and confidence. What I am really talking about is the power of a God who is sovereign.

Consider Psalm 121:

A song of ascents.

 

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

    where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—

    he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel

    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—

    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,

    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—

    he will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

    both now and forevermore.

 

This Psalm brings me back to how faith is defined, for a believer. As God’s divine persuasion on the heart.

Persuasion prompts action.

When I pray for wisdom about God’s sovereignty in my life, it often sounds like this:

Heavenly Father,

I want to grow in how I seek your nature. I want to grow in how I recognize and draw on the power of who you are, and how much you love me. That your love for me is sovereign. You started it. That your protection of me is sovereign. No one can stand up to the spiritual armor you clothe me in. That your will for my life is sovereign. You have the perfect path cleared for my journey.

I lay my worry, my frustration, my pride, my fear—in all, my imprisoned nature at the feet of your Son.

It’s in His name, I pray.

So, I am doing what I must do. Only now it is a spiritual elevator. (What life, please?)

A Call to be Free

In Galatians Paul tells us we are called to be free, that freedom in Christ is a calling.

It is a “your name here” invitation from the Savior of the world.

Gal 5:13

 

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit. Paul says that I should not indulge in my sinful nature… a nature that is focused on self, that when I do this, I am opposing the Holy Spirit within to guide me through this earthly trek. That when I use my freedom, my free will to listen to the Holy Spirit I am independent from what the world holds dominion over… power, money, influence, addiction to things not “of the spirit”, self-love, to name a few. The world does not have power over me.

Because my God is sovereign.

I want to be clear about how I affirm the power of divine freedom in for my life. So I want to share my freedom affirmations with you:

• I am free in God’s sovereign nature. To mature in His image.
• I am free in Christ’s sacrificial presence. To suffer in His humble footsteps.
• I am free in Christ’s ascension to the highest of places. To rise up with him when he comes back.
• I am free in the Holy Spirit’s counsel. To know that my every step, my every decision is infused with God’s breath on my witness, my life, my love for others.

Like when He was first “hovering over the waters” (Gen 1:1).

I have that kind of freedom. The divine kind. To serve you, to serve one another humbly in love.