I want to share something with you that may seem a bit ridiculous. In this day and age, it appears to me that people don’t really appreciate what it truly means to be free. To be free in body and soul is more important than people realize.

Not too long ago I thought I was free. I was living the life and didn’t really want for any good thing. Never had a lot of friends, so I was used to being by myself and often found peace in the quiet time. I’m not sure when it happened, but I found myself so burdened down that I had difficulty concentrating on the task I was involved in at the time.

So, one day I was thinking and wanting the peace I had grown accustomed to experiencing. I wasn’t depressed or unhappy, but something had defiantly changed. I was financially free and my health was in the best shape it had been in for quite some time. In other words, I didn’t really have a reason that I could see to feeling the way I had been feeling for months.

I was watching something on the television one day, when it hit me like a ton of bricks. Unawares to me, the devil had me shackled in my mind, my will, and my emotions. I was bound—not physically and didn’t even realize it. I have always been able to move quickly past disappointments and betrayal, but what I was watching, in that moment brought my issue to the forefront. After eleven years—I was still mourning the loss of my mother.

I was shackled emotionally by a spiritual enemy. I say this because I know The Lord desires that we come to Him when we feel burdened and heavy laden. I’m not supposed to allow the enemy to keep me locked down—or tied down, unable to move about through life freely. No—I’m to cast my care on Him, because He cares for me. It’s my job to work with God and not the enemy of my soul.

I’m sure others have lost loved ones too. And that emptiness of them no longer being around can weigh us down from time to time. That’s normal. But what is not normal is allowing the devil to keep us shackled to that loss. What have you lost that shackles you still today? That has changed you from the person you were created to be. I encourage you to “Shake Yourself Loose” and move on with the life God allows you to live. Whatever the circumstances surrounding your loss—it will never be greater than our God’s ability to keep you.

God wants us happy and healthy. So, we need to “Shake Ourselves Loose” from the “Shackles” that weigh us down and hinders our ability to be free. Jesus came to set the captives free and it’s high time to cast your care on Him. He will provide you with the strength needed to remember—you are truly loved by Him and never alone! (Read Matthew 11:28—30)