The War of Free Will

God didn’t create slaves. He created sons. He gave you something powerful: Free Will. The ability to choose. Not just between good and evil, but between obedience and apathy, between leadership and laziness, between being that man or the same man.

Free will is not the enemy. It’s the weapon God gave men to fight the enemy.

You can choose to show up for your family
You can choose to be a father when yours wasn’t
You can choose to forgive what should have broken you
You can choose to speak life, not death
You can choose to stay when others leave
You can choose purpose over comfort
You can choose to follow Jesus when everything in you wants to run

That’s power.
That’s what separates a weak man from an ALTARed man.

But here’s the warning. Free will cuts both ways.
It’s the same blade that can free you or finish you.

I’ve lived on both sides.
I’ve made selfish choices that looked good in the moment, but left me with pain, shame, and regret. I’ve used free will to chase validation, money, relationships, and control. I ended up empty. I ended up angry. And I ended up alone in my thoughts.

But I also made a different choice. I chose to lay it all down.
To walk away from what the world calls winning, and chase what God calls holy.
That wasn’t easy. It still isn’t. But every day I get stronger, not because I do what I want, but because I give my will back to Him.

Deuteronomy 30:19 says
“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
God put the steering wheel in your hands.
But He gave you the map.
And He said, “Choose life.”

Jesus showed us the way. He had free will. He could have called down angels. He could have walked away from the cross. But in the greatest act of masculine strength this world has ever seen, He said:
“Not My will, but Yours be done.”

That’s what we’re called to.
Not feelings. Not comfort. Faith.

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CHAIN-BREAKER QUESTIONS

⛓️ Are you using your free will to follow Jesus, or justify yourself?

⛓️ What area of your life is still ruled by comfort instead of calling?

⛓️ What would “choosing life” look like today in your choices?