Freedom awaits.......

I was praying for someone once and I had a picture of them that I have never ever been able to forget.  This person was sitting in a jail cell he was wearing a very bright, almost neon, white shirt. I saw that there were chains everywhere but they were not connected to his physical body. He was just sitting there.  The door to the cell was wide open.  Open and available for him to walk right out and truly be free.  The chains were already off there was nothing holding him back but his own will keeping him there.  I could see Jesus just standing there saying "what are you doing?? Come out!!"
I will never ever forget that.  It was one of the most revealing picture I have seen (so far). How many times have we been released of the chains that hold us back but we stay right there in our dungeon of entitlement.  Yes entitlement.  And oh how sad it is.  Let me elaborate on that.  So often we are hurt or something happens to us and we grab on to that hurt with a strong grip and refuse to let go. Why? For me its ownership and rights to hold something over someones head.  One of my friends calls it "ammo"  "You hurt me so bad and now Im not letting go...and I will never let go.  How crazy is that? As if it brings such a benefit to us.
Throughout my life I have had the tendency to hold on to an offense by not talking about it to the person who offended me.   I would make excuse after excuse as to why I wouldnt just simply come forward and reveal my heart. Yes some of it is fear.  I genuinely believed all these things that I was claiming to be the "real reason" I would not speak.  But this week the Lord used an event to drop a special nugget of truth into my heart that freed me from all the excuses I made.  The Lord said "when you choose to hold on to the offense it becomes a false sense of entitlement. "This is mine, I own this and Im using is against you" But when you let it go and reveal it then it is no longer yours and is no longer hidden. You have to let it go.
Offense can be so empowering but in the wrong way and eventually leads to destruction.  Sadly enough for some its what keeps us sitting in the cell in misery all bc we want to just hold on.
What could your holding cell be?  Past sins? Hidden offenses? Unmet expectation? Offense against God? Yes  thats what I said.  It is possible and so many times in our relationship with Him it enters our heart and we dont even know it.  I can be honest enough to say thats happened to me and still remains.  But the good news it that the door is open and it is easy....get up and walk. Walk out of the shame. Walk out the hurts. Walk out your freedom awaits......