“To believe in the things you can see and touch is no belief at all – but to believe in the unseen is a triumph and a blessing.”

-Abraham Lincoln

You know Lincoln had to imagine a free world, without slavery. He had to believe it in order to carry out his freedom-filled agenda. Imagine seeing freedom when all you’ve ever seen is bondage? How can a person imagine something so wonderful when what their eyes see is something so awful?

There are people stuck in all sorts of situations who can’t even imagine freedom. They can’t imagine living a free life, free of ridicule, free of abuse, free of debt, free of rejection. They walk down the road of life and make one decision after another that leads to a path they never meant to walk.

And suddenly they realize they can’t walk any further. They can’t even move; they find it difficult to breathe. This is what bondage feels like.

Oh, no, we don’t often see physical bondage on these folks; but when you look deeper, beyond the forced smiles and the high performance results, they are as frozen as a rusty nut on a bolt. They smile a big smile but inside they are dying for someone to put their arm around them and tell them they can be free.

Maybe they are stuck deep in debt and can’t see a way out. Maybe they are stuck in a job they hate but don’t feel confident enough to try something else.

Maybe they are stuck in a toxic relationship but can’t gather enough strength to make it change.

While they are busy going through life, they can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Not being able to see a life of freedom will keep them enslaved and bound up in chains – chains that could be shaken off with a little encouragement.

So, let me encourage you today. Maybe you’re living in bondage to something or someone? Maybe you’re too fearful to see beyond the step of faith you need to get out. Just take one glimpse of your life beyond that fear. Maybe you want to try something new, maybe you want to start a new business and maybe you just want to end a damaging situation.

Take one step toward getting out. Think beyond the first few steps; think beyond the confrontation or the audition or the rejection. Focus on the great possibilities that will only come when you see the unseen and untouchable!

I promise you, the sun will come up, the earth will continue to turn and you have nothing to lose. Go, take that step – soar.

And when you find your freedom and enjoy the relief, be careful not to soar into another thorny field only to get stuck again and bleed to death in bondage. But stay above the fray. Stay on a path to freedom and once again, enjoy the bondage free life you were created to live.