Free The Slave

Saturdays seem to be my toughest day as far as working out goes.  I typically prefer to sleep in and yet the sun beckons me to awaken and do the needed, but sometimes not the wanted.  I didn't eat breakfast this morning, and so as I dragged my tired body over to my friend's house, I was literally on "E" in every way.

Today was the longest I had ever spent on the elliptical, going for a solid 55 minutes.  I found myself having thoughts of death as the machine whirred and my legs ached.  Time seemed to stand still as the shuffled list on my iPod began to repeat.  With sweat dripping off my face like after a fresh rain shower, I found myself frantically yelling "Free the slave!" in between short breaths of limited oxygen.  The hope?  That my friend, aka trainer, would have mercy on me and shorten my time.  The result?  An eye-opening view of the grave reality of my existence.

I have been a slave for nearly 30 years, yoked up with things that Jesus never intended for me to be weighed down with.  Self-hatred, addictions to different foods, bondage in sin.  Yes, "Free the slave!" became the cry of my raw heart as I asked the Father to deliver me, to free me from all of these self-crippling things that have consumed my life.  Oh I love how Jesus came to bring me freedom, in every way and on every level.  I am learning to walk and to live in true freedom.  So with every achy step to the machine, I step in freedom.  With every opt-out for salad over that piece of pie, I choose my freedom.  With every spoken promise from God's Word over the constant replay of lies, I speak and listen to freedom.

Truly when the Scriptures say that with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible...this is true.  So as the Father continues to free this slave and I learn to walk and dwell in that freedom, I give the praise to Him.  For those ones around me that cheer and applaud me on, I can't say thank you enough.  And as I celebrate my new number today, 173 left to go, I give glory to God alone...for yes, with God, anything is possible...even freeing the most bounded of slaves!