Jen Musselwhite

Walking in freedom with God is something most believers deeply desire. But staying there? That is where the real challenge begins. There are two primary things that pull us away from that place of freedom, and understanding them can change everything about how we live out our faith.

What Are the Two Things That Hinder Our Freedom?

The first is our own sin. The second is the unreasonable expectations of other people. Sometimes we are the problem. Sometimes others become the obstacle. Both are real, and both deserve our attention.

Why Confronting Sin Matters in Community

Dealing with sin honestly needs to become a culture, especially among women walking together in faith. That starts with humility. When the Holy Spirit brings conviction, the right response is to be quick to acknowledge it and quick to confess.

Confession simply means agreeing with how God sees things. It is not about shame or punishment. It is about alignment with truth.

What Can We Learn from David and Saul?

Looking at David and Saul side by side is instructive. From the outside, David’s sins appear more grievous. He committed adultery and was responsible for a man’s death. Saul was disobedient. And yet God called David a man after His own heart.

The difference was not the severity of the sin. It was the response to it.

When the prophet Nathan confronted David, David did not deflect. He did not make excuses. He acknowledged his sin immediately. There is almost a sense of relief in his response, as if he had been waiting for a way out of the weight he had been carrying.

David himself wrote about that season, describing how God’s hand felt heavy upon Him and how His bones felt like the drought of summer. He knew what it was to live under the burden of unconfessed sin.

Saul, on the other hand, deflected. He blamed others. He justified himself. And in doing so, he missed the very moment God was offering Him healing and restoration.

How Does the Holy Spirit’s Conviction Lead Us Back to God?

There is a critical distinction worth understanding. The conviction of the Holy Spirit always leads us toward God. It draws us closer, invites us to be honest, and opens the door to freedom.

Guilt and shame, on the other hand, lead us in the opposite direction. They push us toward people-pleasing or into hiding. Learning to tell the difference is essential for anyone who wants to walk in lasting freedom.

How Do Guilt and Shame Become Stumbling Blocks?

Satan is not passive. His mission is clear: to kill, steal, and destroy. He wants to kill our faith, steal our joy, and destroy what God is building in our lives. And he is not selective about the tools he uses. He will use well-meaning people and ill-meaning people alike.

Two of his most effective tools are guilt and shame.

What Does Guilt Look Like in Real Life?

Guilt used as a weapon looks like pressure from others to perform, to show up, to meet expectations that were never God’s to begin with. It can come from family, from religious environments, from communities that use obligation as a form of control.

When guilt is used this way, it does not draw us closer to God. It weighs us down and causes us to lose sight of what He is actually calling us to do.

What Does Shame Do to Our Faith?

Shame is equally destructive. When authority figures use shame as a tool, especially with young people, the damage can go far beyond a stumble. It can cause someone to leave the path entirely.

Rules and boundaries have their place. They are important and necessary. But when a rulebook is elevated above Scripture, or when shame is used to enforce compliance, something has gone deeply wrong. That kind of environment does not produce freedom. It produces fear and hiding.

What Did Jesus Model When Facing Unreasonable Expectations?

When Peter tried to redirect Jesus away from the cross, Jesus responded directly: “Get behind me, Satan.” He was not being harsh for the sake of it. He was protecting His mission. He knew He had a race to run, and He was not going to let even a well-meaning person become a stumbling block to it.

That same posture is available to us. When man-made expectations wrapped in guilt or shame come our way, we can recognize them for what they are and refuse to let them derail us. Not out of pride, but out of clarity about the race we are called to run.

What Does It Mean to Stand Fast in Freedom?

Paul’s words to the Galatians carry real weight here. He wrote:

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1 English Standard Version (ESV)

Paul knew it would not be easy. That is exactly why he said to stand fast. Standing against sin and standing against the weight of other people’s unreasonable expectations both require intentional effort. Freedom is not passive. It must be protected.

Life Application

This week, take an honest inventory of what is weighing you down. Is it unconfessed sin that the Holy Spirit has been nudging you about? Or is it guilt and shame that someone else has placed on you that was never God’s to begin with?

Choose one of those things and bring it before God. If it is sin, confess it and receive His forgiveness. If it is guilt or shame from outside expectations, name it for what it is and ask God to help you release it.

Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:

• Is there something the Holy Spirit has been convicting me about that I have been avoiding or deflecting?
• Am I carrying guilt or shame that came from a person rather than from God?
• What would it look like for me to stand fast in the freedom Christ has already given me this week?

Freedom is not something we earn. It is something Christ has already secured. Our job is to stand in it, protect it, and refuse to be entangled again in what He already paid to set us free from.