DAY 26
Devotional by Timna Jones
At the age of 20, a young woman walked into a tattoo parlor to get her first tattoo. She was filled with nerves and excitement as the tattoo artist pierced her skin with ink. FREEDOM was the tattoo that was etched into her skin.
That girl was me only a few months after becoming a Christian almost 11 years ago. The freedom I found in Jesus changed me in such a powerful way that I couldn’t help but to get it tattooed on me. Sorry, mom!
One of the many journeys of freedom that I have been on started a few years ago. It was my freedom to health. In my second year of Bible College I started having stomach problems. I would be in pain every day. After many medical tests I was told that I had a condition that was not curable. I was told this would be my life. Although there was no medicine that could help me, a very strict diet could help.
This diet was incredibly strict and overwhelming to stick to. My every day became about what I was going to eat. Could I eat this? Could I eat that? I had to make almost everything from scratch and eating out without getting sick was nearly impossible. In no way was this illness life threatening and I was grateful for that, but I still found it to be so incredibly debilitating and life altering.
I lived like this for almost SIX YEARS! It was a constant struggle in my life and left me feeling defeated and exhausted most days. I just wanted the freedom to eat like a normal person and not be sick afterwards.
One day about four years into this sickness, I was driving and felt as though God tapped me on the shoulder and said, “My healing is for you.” Somehow, I had been on church staff, surrounded by amazing pastors, believing with other people for their healing, yet never really pursued healing for myself. I had completely accepted that this would be a part of my life forever.
This began a two year journey of believing God for my health. Although this revelation came as a process, God ultimately showed me that the sickness I was afflicted with was from the enemy. I believe there are many reasons people can be sick but for me it was completely and utterly an attack of the enemy.
My journey to freedom from this sickness involved me breaking vows I had made unknowingly, having a true revelation that the power of life and death is in the tongue, and breaking generational strongholds and curses I had on my life. It was truly an action packed few years and I am so grateful to say that God healed me! I found freedom from the sickness that plagued my life for almost six years! The doctors said I couldn’t be cured but guess what… I found FREEDOM in Jesus!
That journey to freedom looked very different than I thought it would. Trust me when I say that I wanted desperately to be healed in a moment. Who doesn’t want to walk down to the front in a healing service and be set free? Can I get an amen? But that wasn’t my story. Freedom came over the course of years and through God opening my eyes to the lies of the enemy. Today, I am so incredibly grateful that my journey to freedom looked the way that it did. Not only did I receive healing, but I learned so much. God opened my eyes to a greater understanding of the spirit world and it’s something that has changed every part of my life. All I wanted was healing – my health and my freedom to eat normally without pain and sickness. But God gave me SO much more. When I look back on that journey, although I am incredibly grateful for the healing I received, to me, that isn’t even the best part. It’s what I learned along the way.
I encourage you to grab ahold of your journey to freedom – don’t shy away from the journey. Don’t be discouraged if it takes longer than you expected. Surrender your journey of freedom to Jesus and get ready for the ride of your life!