Hi friends, welcome in. It's me, Cynthia Lujan. I'm your host, and this is my podcast, Living Room Talk, where I have the privilege of hosting you here in the comfort of my living room. It's one of my absolute favorite things to do. So whether you have stopped by for a bite size negative faith, or to listen in on a conversation with one of my amazing guest co-hosts, I know either way, you are going to walk away blessed, refreshed, and encouraged to continue your journey ahead. So sit back, relax, because we are about to dive in. Welcome back, guys. I just want to jump in this morning and talk about what it actually means to be a follower of Christ, what that looks like—to be free, to be whole. To be made new, and to operate in the freedom and the fullness that God has for us. There are certain things that we must do to maintain our freedom ongoing. And I know these aren't the things that have the highlights, that have the social media reels, that are uncomfortable, that are not fun, but the necessary things to walking out daily, a life lived in Christ, in freedom and in deliverance and in victory. It is a full surrender, hands-on sport of things and areas that we have to do to take control of this flesh, because the flesh is going to want to do what the flesh wants to do, right? I had one friend say to me years ago, the heart wants what it wants. But that doesn't mean the heart gets what it wants. And most people will take to get their own fulfillment. They will take to get what they want. But the life of a Christian is a surrendered life to Christ daily. So what does that actually mean? The Apostle Paul says to take up our cross daily. He says, I die daily. What does that actually mean to a believer that wants to operate and live in the freedom and the fullness of all Christ has for us? Friends, it means that in order to live free, in order to follow Christ, we must die to our flesh. We must surrender and submit our lives to the process, to the hard things, to doing the hard work, to saying no, to resisting things that we want to do but are not God's best for us. We must do the hard work. Following Jesus. We must do the hard work, the Bible says, of getting along. We must walk in and operate in forgiveness because the Bible says bitterness dries up the bones. There are so many of these areas of our life that will take control over us and hold us captive to this flesh if we don't stop and surrender to what God is calling us to do in the moment. And I know it's not easy. I know it's not comfortable. I know these are not the popular topics. But if we want the freedom, the healing, the forgiveness that God has for us, we cannot move forward. We cannot pass go until we stop and say, God. I need to give this to you. I need to bring this to you. I cannot hold this. Jesus, come and move in this area of my life. Friends, it is a wrestling match. But like Jacob said when he was wrestling with the angel of the Lord, I will not let go until you bless me. I will not let go until you come and bring your healing and bring your freedom, bring your flow from my life that no longer grips this flesh. It doesn't matter how long those things have had a hold on you. They don't have to stay when we resist them. The Bible says, resist the devil and he will flee. So what are those areas in your life that the enemy has held you captive on that we need to give back to God and say, this is not mine. This is not my story. I will not hold on to this. I will not keep this. I will not claim this. Just because this has been a certain way for so long doesn't mean it stays in that chaotic cycle. You must be the one to resist it. Nobody else can do it for you. Nobody else can follow Jesus for you. Nobody else can do the hard work for you of dying to the flesh, resisting the flesh, operating in the fear of God over our life and in our own surrender. Friends, nobody can do that for you. But that's where the freedom comes. When you're in the middle of the valley, it's you that has to put your faith to work. It's you that every day is in prayer, is reading the Word of God, is repenting, is allowing tears to flow, to wash, to cleanse, to heal, to uproot those things that can no longer remain. Nobody can do that for you, and nobody can do that for me. It's my responsibility to align my heart to trust God in the middle of this story. It's the only thing I know how to do when life feels crazy and when we're in the middle of turbulent circumstances. Nobody can impart faith in that moment for me. Nobody can fight for my marriage for me. Nobody can fight for my children for me. That is my responsibility to bring that before the Lord, to submerge myself in the truth of what God says when I'm in the middle of the storm. I know that the storm is scary, And I know that, you know, sometimes we have to trust God in the middle of the uncomfortable. But it's up to me to say, God, I trust you with, insert my child's name. I trust you with Mallory, Macy, Jacob, and Joel. God, they are yours. I trust you with these areas of my marriage, right? Last year when I was in the middle of the valley with my husband and his brain injury after the surgery. God, I give this to you. I bring this to you, Jesus. How do you want to respond, God? How do you want to move in this situation? How do you want me to respond in the middle of the situation? And when we're in the middle of those valleys, when we're in the middle of the storms. God's gonna give us instructions and he's gonna call us to do hard and difficult things that are the opposite of what my flesh wants to do and how my flesh wants to respond in the middle of the storm. God's gonna call us to stand. You know what my flesh wants to do in the middle of a storm? My flesh wants to pack up my bags, pack up my family and hit the road and self-protect. That's always going to be my go-to, and it has been. Like, I have a history of wanting to run and protect and shelter down and as a wife. Like, I don't need this. I don't need you people. I don't need to deal with this. But that's actually not what God is calling me to do. The Bible says, after having done all, stand. I got a little tongue twisted there. Talks about the armor of God, putting on the full armor of God in Ephesians 6. Then it says, after having done all, stand therefore. We stand. It doesn't say, pick up your bags and run. It doesn't say, go hide, go, you know, shelter down in a bunker, go dig a hole and self-protect. No, he says, stand. And sometimes that means I'm going to have to stand and I'm going to have to face these things and I'm going to have to trust Him with the Word of God in my hands and prayers on my lips and worshiping Him through the valley. And I'm going to have to do hard things. I'm going to have to die to my flesh. I'm going to have to die to the self-protection. And I'm going to have to be in the middle of this valley, uncomfortable and still holding on to the hope that I know who He is and I know what He does. And I'm going to have to surrender my perspective for God's perspective. What is he seeing? What is he speaking in the middle of that situation? When my flesh is wanting to run, what is God saying? Yesterday, I was in Jeremiah 33 where he says, I will bring this to health and healing. So I'm constantly having to put into place and grab a hold of what is God saying? What is he speaking? How is he moving in this circumstance and situation that is going to supersede what my feelings and emotions want to say or do. I have to trust the compass. He is my compass. Guys, when you're thrown upside down by the chaos of life, you have to trust the gauges to see clearly because I know I can't see clearly when I'm tossed upside down, right? When you've taken some pretty big hits like we are walking through recently, you have to trust the gauges. You have to trust the history of who we know God to be, and we have to break up with the old patterns and cycles of self-protection. We have to own our portion, and we have to show up to the table. What do those things mean? It means you go back to the basics—repentance, ownership, not hiding. Deep diving, jumping in to take that thing at face value, to take that thing head on and do my portion and what is my portion and my responsibility in the middle of this. Now, God is going to do His. He's faithful. I don't have to worry about God showing up to do His portion. I know that He's going to do that because that's who He is. And that's what He has shown us to be throughout His life or throughout my life, excuse me. But if I'm in a tug of war or a wrestling match with God over my will versus His will, I'm going to extend my pain. I'm going to make this harder on me when I'm choosing to not die to my flesh and surrender to the pain of this process and allowing His work, His mercy, His help, His leadership to come and bring conviction to my heart, to speak through me, to lead me, and to show me the way forward. If I'm still making excuses for my behavior, and I'm still self-protecting, I'm still defensive, and I'm still denying, then I'm not going to get to the other side of this in freedom and in victory and in healing. I'm going to stay stuck, and I'm going to stay in pain. I'm going to extend my season of pain if I am deflecting and reflecting my emotions. If I'm allowing the emotions to lead the way instead of owning my portion and showing up before the Lord and saying, what do you want me to do? What have you called me to do so that my emotions are not what's leading this, but the truth of God's word and what He is saying and speaking. I cannot pretend that everything's okay when it's not okay. If the house is burning down, I'm not going to stand here and act like, God's got this. He's good. He's going to take care of it. Ultimately, that's the truth. And yes, He is going to take care of it. But if the house is burning down, what is my portion here? Am I supposed to go grab a water hose? Am I supposed to call the fire department? Am I supposed to alert my family to get out of the house? Right? There's going to be strategies and patterns there. That God wants us to operate in that is going to lead us out and into freedom. But nobody can do that for me. That is my responsibility. That is your responsibility to take the steps to obey what God has called us to do for our ultimate freedom, healing, forgiveness, and surrender. Yes, He will bring it to health and healing. But in the meanwhile, what are the daily steps of surrender that me and you both need to give to God in this journey and this stance of following Jesus? And you might be like me and be in a very heavy and hard season, or you might just be walking through a daily surrender. The answer is the same. We have to submerge ourselves into the waters of godliness and the truth of the conviction that we are called to operate in. What are those things that God is calling you to surrender and operate in this year? Have you been disconnected? Are you pulling away? Are you disengaging from the conviction of the hard things, the things that we don't want to do, the self-protection? Are we pulling away from those areas of healthy attachment that are gonna challenge us, that are gonna call us higher, that are checking in with us? What areas do you need to no longer self-protect? Do you need to no longer rely on the old patterns of sweeping things under the rug? What are the areas that you need to jump in and submerge yourself in the fullness and the freedom of a surrendered life, lived on obedience to the Word of God as your standard for living? I'm not talking about behavior management here because that's how we stay caught up in cycles. The things that we've known have been comfortable behaviors, desires, emotions, and drivers are not going to be the answers that are going to get us through to the other side of this. Go back to God and ask Him, What are you saying? And what is my portion and responsibility in this so that I no longer stay stuck or stagnant to the things that have held me captive? Don't pretend like you're free if you're not free. We all have a responsibility and a portion to do the work daily to get free. Nobody else can do that for us, friends. That is a necessity foundational framework to a life of following Jesus, responding to conviction of sin, responding to correction, responding to the uncomfortable so that we get the freedom and the fullness and the beauty of a life lived out. Owning our portion. What is our portion here? Sometimes our portion is taking responsibility for areas we've screwed up. Sometimes our portion has meant we've allowed things to operate this way for a really long time and I'm no longer going to allow that behavior or that pattern in my life to own me. I'm gonna take responsibility. I'm gonna own that. I'm gonna clean up my mess. That is a life. That is a fruit of a life of following Jesus. What are areas that you need to own, that God is calling you higher on that we can no longer turn a blind eye to and say, God, I need you. I need your help. I need your leadership. Your leadership is perfect in my life. Even though this is uncomfortable to own this, this is what a man of God does. This is what a woman of God does. They take responsibility for their portion and they repent, which means mentanoia, to change your ways, to turn away from and move in the opposite direction of that behavior or pattern that has kept you bound for so long. Friends, this is a new day, it's a new season, and it is a new year. And I said this to you in my last podcast, I believe this is a year of freedom and I believe this is a year of alignment. So we are gonna hit these topics this year that aren't gonna lead us to cute Christianity, but they're gonna lead us to free, healthy, and whole lives rooted and founded. As believers in Christ that we will live and operate in for the long haul. I hope this helps. Can't wait to continue these topics and conversations with you guys because we are not going to play and pretend that we are operating in areas of freedom, that we are truly not. It's not getting us the fruit and it's costing us everything. It's too costly not to go after these areas of truth, of operating in the freedom and the fullness that God has called us to live in the lives of a surrendered, whole, healthy Christian, daily following Jesus. I love you guys so much. I love you too much not to talk about the hard things. Well, that's it for today, guys. Thanks so much for coming to hang out with me. I love our time together, and I don't take it lightly that we get the privilege to do this life and journey to.
