What Is The Key To Your Freedom? A Juneteenth Lesson For Today’s Believer
Published on June 19, 2026
What Is The Key To Your Freedom? A Juneteenth Lesson For Today’s Believer
Today is Juneteenth, and over the years, it has been my task to cover this momentous holiday. One of the first articles I wrote for Holy Culture was about Juneteenth, and it gets visits to this day. I’ve learned about its history, key figures like Opal Lee, and the significance of surrounding symbols, like the flag.
But this year, Juneteenth felt more personal.
It is not lost on me that if I had lived in the 1800s, I too would have been a slave, a legal marriage to a white man like my husband would have been unthinkable, and my mixed-race babies would have been considered outcasts in society.
But by God’s grace, I have citizenship in the land of the free, and in Christ I have freedom, and it made me stop and think: why then are so many of us still living as captives in one way or another?
Free But Not
The Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1st, 1863, stating that “all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are and henceforward shall be free.” News spread far and wide about the decree, yet two years later, without Union forces to enforce the proclamation, thousands remained in bondage.
History tells us some owners forcibly brought their slaves to Texas out of the reach of the Union forces. While slaves could only dream of reaching a free state, a military base, or a contraband camp that would give them their overdue freedom. Imagine knowing you are free, but still remaining shackled and powerless to escape. Enduring brutalities, scarcity, and hard labor with the full knowledge that something better was already awaiting you.
The Slavery Mindset Of Christians
So many of us are like those freed slaves who remained in bondage. We love to sing “who the Son sets free, is free indeed” (John 8:36), but how many of us are still bound to our flesh?
How many of us are slaves to the expectations of the world? We work hard to maintain a certain image. To make sure we drive the right cars, own the perfect home, and afford all the luxuries we want, yet feel empty inside.
How many of us are addicted: whether it be to gambling, shopping, nicotine, alcohol, illegal substances or explicit content? Doing anything and everything to get one more fix, one more dopamine hit just to feel you’ve failed yourself or your loved ones once again?
How many of us deep down want to stop chasing after those desires and be free of them, but fail to do so time and time again?
I’ve been there, as I am sure some of you have too.
Is Freedom Truly Yours?
The thing is, freedom is ours.
It has been from the moment we opened our mouths to say, Christ died for my sins, and I believe God raised Him from the dead ( Romans 10:9)
Ephesians 1: 4 says that He CHOSE us from the foundation of the world to stand BLAMELESS before Him in love. BLAMELESS Fam.
We have been accepted by Him (Ephesians 1:6).
We have been redeemed by Him (Ephesians 1:7).
And we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13).
What Is The Key To Freedom? 3 Places To Start
I don’t want to over-generalize because while sin is sin, it doesn’t all come from the same place. So here are three areas to start:
- Have you dealt with past trauma? I truly believe un-dealt with trauma can and will resurface in a multitude of ways. The enemy will use what happened to you as a means to sow seeds of distrust and keep you looking for love and validation in all the wrong places. You want to be free, deal with your past first, so you can start healing. So many of us walk around bleeding because we don’t want to open the closet with the rattling skeletons of our past.
- Have you repented? And I’m not talking about being sorry for sinning. I am talking about being so sick of yourself in this bondage that you would do anything to not be this way anymore. Because that is where repentance starts. A complete turning away from this version of you that keeps you away from God. And if you haven’t. Why not? Sometimes we love sin so much that our first prayer should be: Lord, I want to not want this anymore. You’d be surprised what He can do with just that prayer.
- Are you walking in your righteousness? Righteousness is a process, Fam. We are called to be holy because our God is holy. And as permanent residents of His Spirit (Romans 8:11), we must seek the Lord daily and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Righteousness, fam, is one of your biggest weapons against the enemy. Because when your heart wants the things God wants, the wiles of the enemy don’t have the same effect.
No one was created for bondage, not in the 1800’s and not now. Not them and certainly not you. There is freedom in the name of Christ that we can claim and cling to in both good and bad times.
Even with that knowledge, however, we let our fleshly desires hold us hostage and keep us from what God has for us. What could you do if you were free from those bonds today?
Walk In Your Freedom
Let me pray for you.
Dear Heavenly Father, I lift up our reader to you in this moment. Holy Spirit, I ask that you lead them to true repentance. A desire not to be a version of themselves that keeps them bound to their flesh. But the version of themselves that they have always been created to be, to cherish the things that God wants for them, and a longing for the freedom that is theirs in Christ. I pray, Lord, that you would put the people around them that they need; the right friends, the right mentors, the right professionals, to put them on a path to true healing. I pray that you be with them, Lord, as they experience your freedom for the first time, and we thank you, Lord, for everything you will begin doing in their lives from this moment. Lord, we do not deserve your precious blood, the sacrifice that you have made for us. But we embrace it, we accept it. And we walk in your freedom in this moment Lord, to be a shining reflection of who you are and what you have done with our lives in all the corners of the world. Jesus name, I pray, amen.
