Do we really want to be free? Most of us would say yes, but deep inside we are terrified of our freedom.

Do you really want to be free? Most people would say yes but deep inside are terrified of their freedom. That’s because new life requires stepping out of old comfort zones. We can’t experience our freedom while remaining in familiar and predictable patterns. We have to venture into the unknown.

That’s where God calls us—into the unknown. Many people never accept the call; they remain stuck and wonder why they aren’t experiencing more of God. But if we want the life he offers us, we’ll have to learn to be more comfortable with discomfort. We’ll have to let him stretch us.

The paralytic at the pool of Bethesda had been stuck for years (John 5). He identified himself by what he didn’t have and couldn’t do, not by who he was really called to be. His identity was based on his need, not his potential. If Jesus hadn’t confronted him, he would never have found his freedom.

Learn from the paralytic. You aren’t defined by your lack, your pain, or your mistakes. You aren’t the sick one, the divorced one, the unemployed one, the unsatisfied one, or the un- anything. You have a new identity. Are you willing to be made whole? Get up and leave the familiar. Follow God into the new. Accept your new identity—physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, spiritually. Embrace the discomfort of your freedom until it feels like the truest you that you could possibly be.