Hello, my name is Traci, and I am a recovering people pleaser.

I have spent the majority of my life worried about two things: what people think of me and my weight. Both of these things have provided me with either fleeting happiness (Yay, they said I did a good job! Awesome, I fit into a certain size!) or bottomless disappointment (Aw, nobody noticed me. Ugh, I can’t button these pants).

The lie I believed was that if I could get people to like me and if I could fit into a certain size of clothing, life would be just grand.

The truth is that my purpose here on earth is not to please people but to please God.  My purpose here on earth is not to look skinny or fit or even pretty, but to look like Christ.

Too many of you are chained to false beliefs like mine. Maybe yours isn’t being obsessed with pleasing others. Maybe it’s being a control freak or needing to stay busy to feel like you’re worthy. The list goes on and on, but I would venture to say that the majority of us have been chained to the false belief that if we weighed a certain number or could slip into a certain pant size, life would be better. 

We would be happier and more valuable.

These beliefs encompass our personhood as a whole. They chain our opinions about ourselves to who we are on the outside, all the while making us feel crummy about ourselves on the inside. The lies can feel all-encompassing.

The truth, which is good news indeed, is that we don’t have to live this way. We weren’t created to live this way! We serve a good Father who has set us free from bondage. ALL BONDAGE!  In other words, we are sitting in chains that we hold the key to escaping because of Christ. God gave us this key on the cross a couple of thousand years ago.

Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Christ set us free, yet a lot of us are still bound. By our own choosing! Sounds bizarre, doesn’t it?  Radical freedom means not only acknowledging the freedom we have in Christ but actually choosing to live in it. It requires participation on our part!

We sit in these chains with a key in one hand and a tissue in the other, too often choosing the tissue to dry our tears, instead of using our key to stop the tears once and for all. It’s time to wake up and cling to the freedom that has been lavished upon us. Use the key, friend. Unlock the chains. Refuse to submit to the lies.  Instead of feeling helpless, get intentional.

We seem to do whatever it takes to make our bodies look a certain way or to “manage” our lives, accepting false beliefs and living out of them. It’s time to let those things go and cling to God.

God has set us free, but because we live in a fallen world that we must engage with every day, we fall into traps that easily capture us. The good news is, we can set traps for those traps!

We can be intentional in staying free.  It takes effort. Freedom is a gift, but it is also a choice.  A daily choice. You know what it takes. We must be in the Word, pray, and enter into friendships that encourage us to follow Christ.

Saturate yourself in truths about this freedom that God has graciously and lovingly bestowed on us.  He came to give us life and life more abundantly (John 10:10).

Lay aside every hindrance (false beliefs) and the sin that so easily ensnares (Hebrews 12:1).

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15).

It is not always easy, but by the grace of God, it is possible. And the more you live life choosing this radical freedom, the more natural it becomes.

God has honestly and radically set me free from people pleasing and from worrying about my weight.  I still have the occasional rough day, but I remember the key He gave me in Christ. When the hard days come, I stand up from my pity party on the floor, throw my tissue away and wield that key.  

This is radical freedom: realizing that freedom doesn’t come from us, but that it comes from God.  It’s up to us to choose it. So which do you choose? The tissue or the key?

Traci Stewart is a wife, mom to two teens, music teacher and Revelation Wellness instructor.  She loves to encourage others and focus on God’s glory.  You can follow her on Instagram @revelatefitnessandpraise.

Thank you for reading along on the Revelation Wellness Blog! This month we are excited to ask, seek and knock on heaven’s door for a greater revelation of what it means to live in radical freedom. If you are a monthly partner with us, we remind you to join us in the RevWell TV July Facebook challenge group page. It’s a place where you are welcome to come as you are and “glow up” in loving God, getting healthy, being whole and loving others.

Have you checked out our FREE Forgiveness Training? It is an incredible resource to learn how to give and receive forgiveness in your home, your church, with your friends and family.

Move in freedom with us in this #wednesdayworkout! For more great workouts, visit us at RevWellTV!

ALISA’S FULL-LENGTH CARDIO STRENGTH – “BOLD IN THE SOUL”

This workout will flip-flop you back and forth between cardio and resistance training. Sure to keep your body guessing. Muscle confusion? No big deal. God is never confused about us. Get comfortable being uncomfortable in this workout. (ALL LEVELS) (2 TIMOTHY 1:7; YOGA MAT, HAND WEIGHTS, & DRUMSTICKS)