Finding True Freedom: It's Not What You Think

Have you ever tried to break free from something only to find yourself stuck in the same cycle months later? Maybe you've thought, "If I could just change my surroundings, my job, or my relationships, then I'd finally be free." I've been there too. The truth is, we're all addicts of some sort—all candidates for freedom.

As I shared with our church family recently, "If you're able to breathe in deep and let it out, you're a candidate for freedom. If you're alive, you need freedom." But what exactly is freedom?

The best definition I've found is this: Freedom is the ability to act and react in life as the person I was created to be.

In other words, it's the ability to respond to life's challenges—when someone cuts you off in traffic, when someone says something hurtful, when circumstances don't go your way—without being controlled by shame, guilt, or past wounds. True freedom means responding from who you really are, not from your baggage.

When pursuing freedom, most of us follow a common pattern, but I believe we've gotten the steps out of order. And order matters—just like taking medicine at the wrong time can mess you up, doing these steps in the wrong sequence keeps us stuck.

We think, "If I could just change my surroundings, I could experience true freedom." If I had a better job, better spouse, better friends... We spend enormous amounts of money and energy convinced that changing things on the outside will make us better people on the inside.

But here's the thing: the Apostle Paul wrote these words from a Roman prison—for doing exactly what God told him to do: "I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I've learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it's with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:12-13).

How could he write about contentment and strength from a prison cell? Because true freedom isn't dictated by your environment. It's what's happening inside you during your circumstances.

I grew up in a church that specialized in behavior modification. The unspoken message was clear: "You can come to our church if you change first." This approach created two types of people: those who became inauthentic, playing a role in public while struggling in private, or those who got frustrated and walked away from faith entirely.

The problem with starting with behavior? You're trying to change the outside without addressing what's happening on the inside.

These are the mental maps formed by past experiences that influence how we navigate life. Maybe you've been hurt and created a mental map that says, "I'll never trust again" or "I'll never be vulnerable again."

Mental strategies can be powerful when born out of vision, but when they're born out of pain or disappointment, they can paralyze you and keep you chained to your past.

Beliefs are different from thoughts. We have thousands of thoughts racing through our minds daily, but beliefs are deeper—they're the soundtracks that keep playing over and over, affecting what we do, how we feel, and how we think.

Beliefs like "I'll never be good enough," "I'll always be alone," or "I was born this way and I'll always be this way" will keep you from walking in the freedom you were meant to experience.

What if we've been starting at the wrong place? What if true, lasting freedom begins with understanding our identity?

Who you are is what existed in the heart and mind of God when He created you. Coming to the understanding of who you are, who God created you to be—I believe that is the starting point that can change everything in your pursuit of freedom.

Here's what Scripture declares about you: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This isn't just feel-good religious talk. This is God's declaration about your identity.

I've witnessed this transformation firsthand in my brother Kasey's life. After a 20-plus year addiction that led to 43 months behind bars, Kasey found freedom.

When I asked him about the keys to his breakthrough, he pointed to four things:

1. Desperation for change (not just desperation, but desperation for actual change)
2. Surrender to God (admitting he was the problem)
3. Accountability and self-awareness (allowing people to be mirrors for his blind spots)
4. Consistency (practicing these things daily)

Now, every time I see him with his wife and children, every time I watch him serve in ministry, I'm reminded of Jesus' words in John 8:36: "If the Son sets you free, you are free through and through."

The word "saved" appears about 106 times in the New Testament, almost always as the Greek word "sozo," which means "saved, healed, delivered, rescued, set free, made whole."

Salvation isn't just about avoiding hell—it's about being transformed and made whole right now. We've diluted what Jesus actually came to do for us.

As Dr. Neil Anderson says, "The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity."

Remember your true identity daily. Remind yourself: I'm completely accepted, I am totally secure, I'm deeply confident, and I am who God says I am.

Stop letting others define your worth. Here's a simple illustration: If I had a hundred dollar bill, I could wad it up, stick it in the toilet, do everything to it, and there'd still be a line of takers. Why? Because what was done to that hundred dollar bill doesn't define its worth.

The same is true for you. Things that were said to you, done to you, do not define your worth. Your past does not define your worth.

Embrace your freedom in Christ. Freedom isn't the absence of something—it's the presence of Someone, and that is Jesus.

Maybe we've gotten it backwards. Maybe our pursuit of real transformation needs to start with our identity—knowing who we are in Christ and what He says about us. Because when we get convinced that this is who God says we are, everything else begins to line up.

Salvation isn't about behavior modification. It's about allowing God to replace your old identity with the new identity He's given you.

Freedom isn't about what you've been set free from. Freedom is about who you are being set free to become.

You are who God says you are. And He says you're worth everything to Him.