Spiritual Formation | 10/2/2025 1:49:00 PM

Written by: Ellen Lundy

"He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it he found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners And recovery of sight for the blind, To set the oppressed free, To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."   (Luke 4:16-19)
 
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope." (Galatians 5:1…5)
 
True freedom is in Christ. That sounds great, but how? We chase freedom in the forms of success, personal comfort, grades, relationships, living by this attractive idea that we will gain freedom when we achieve what we are after. As athletes, we all carry expectations for our performance on the field. These expectations of yourself and others have propelled you to the point you are at in your athletic career. Expectations of your performance and your team's performance are not inherently bad. But when we let the achievements or lack of achievements begin to define who we are, we are burdened by a yoke of slavery.
I find that the cornerstone of understanding true Christian freedom is found in Paul's words in Galatians 5:5, "through the Spirit." Through the Holy Spirit that changes us, we are freed from our flesh and given God's gifts to enjoy to the full. Furthermore, I love the beginning part of Luke 4, verse 16… "The Spirit of the Lord is on me."

That's. It.

There are no qualifications for the Spirit of the Lord to be on you and to be anointed. No level of achievement or accolades can earn this. My performance, your performance, the team's performance has no bearing on being set free through the Spirit of the Lord.

Let the Lord unshackle you from crushing expectations and lack of joy in competition through his Spirit.

Susanna Wesley's words echo Galatians 5:1, I have this quote written at the front of my Bible to remind me that I am only truly free through the Spirit of Christ, no earthly thing can offer me freedom.
"Take this rule: whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases your strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself." – Susanna Wesley

Reflection questions:

1. When have you felt the most freedom from expectations?
2. What made that moment so freeing?
3. How has the Lord met you in moments where you felt defeated by expectations?

 
If there is one thing I can encourage you with it's the Lord sustains you daily, in competition, in hard seasons, in post-graduate life, in joy, in bus trips, in friendship, all through his Spirit.