Galatians 4:31-5:1 "So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit to a yoke of slavery."

A promise from God was given to Abraham, the promise of offspring. But how could life come from the womb of his wife, who could not bear children? Time passed, restlessness grew. Maybe they did not doubt the promise that God would give Abraham offspring, but they took the promise into their own hands and decided to do what they could to help God out. And not through Sarah, but through her slave woman, offspring was borne to Abraham.

Nothing but strife, abuse, and conflict resulted from this self initiated effort to fulfill God's promise. But this was not God's intent. Sure enough, in time, He fulfilled his promise to Abraham, life was brought from Sarah, who thought she could never have children.

Like the child borne to Sarah as a result of the promise of God, I am a child of the free woman, I am a result of the promise. Because of God and his grace, new life has been worked in me, when all was dead and lifeless.

But i have stooped to this yoke of slave woman many times past, yet today i bear testimony of God's work in my life showing me more and more that I have been set free. Following God appeared to me to be a lot of rules and standards, I put in a lot of effort to live to up to these, tried to do what I could to overcome sin in my life. I frustrated myself with the law that i imposed on myself, I wore a yoke of slavery. Tired and exhausted, I grew hopeless in my efforts to try please God.

Then He began to show me more of himself. The freedom of grace. I have not been set free to live in bondage to the law. I am not expected to toil in hopeless efforts of the flesh to please God. New life is only something that the Spirit of God can accomplish and the fruit of the Spirit in a life is so much more beautiful, so much more bountiful than any works, any efforts, any strivings of the flesh.

"...'Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the childen of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.'" (Galatians 4:27)

The desolate one, the lifeless, with whom it is impossible, is promised more children than the one who has the ability to on her own. Because it is God who works. And when I stop working and rest in his work, fruit is borne from what was once lifeless and desolate.

I am finding that fruit and freedom result, not from rules kept and standards met, but from giving to God in dependance to do what I could never do myself.

"For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation." (Galatians 6:15)