Day 1: CHAINS OFF — Acknowledge the Bondage
Scripture Focus:
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:32 (NLT)
Welcome to the Work of Freedom
Juneteenth was never just a day — it was a reckoning.
On June 19, 1865, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform over 250,000 enslaved people that they were already free. Imagine it: freedom had been declared… but they were still living in chains.
That moment mirrors the spiritual reality for many of us today.
Jesus already declared us free — from addiction, shame, trauma, abuse, fear, guilt, and our past — but too many of us are still living like we’re enslaved.
We’re still stuck in survival mode.
Still chained to the need to be liked.
Still bound by what they did to us.
Still carrying what we were never created to hold.
Freedom may have been declared, but has it been received?
What Are You Still Carrying?
The truth is, we don’t heal what we won’t face.
We don’t break free from what we won’t admit.
We don’t rise into purpose while pretending we’re already whole.
That’s what Jesus was confronting in John 8:32.
He wasn’t just offering information — He was offering transformation.
But transformation starts with truth.
Not just the truth about God — but the truth about you.
Are you still pretending you’re okay while silently suffocating?
Are you still wearing the mask of “strong Black woman” while silently bleeding?
Are you still making excuses for the chains you’ve learned to function in?
Maybe it’s the chain of people-pleasing — constantly overextending yourself to feel worthy.
Maybe it’s the chain of unforgiveness — clinging to bitterness because you never got an apology.
Maybe it’s the chain of shame — believing the lie that because of what you’ve done or what was done to you, you’ll never be enough.
But Sis, hear this loud and clear:
God is not asking you to be perfect. He is asking you to be honest.
Because what you won’t confront, you’ll continue to carry.
The Woman of Encouraging Her Resilience
You didn’t survive everything you’ve been through just to remain emotionally imprisoned.
You didn’t come through addiction, abuse, grief, and loss just to sit quietly in church while still spiritually stuck.
You are the woman who fights in silence, prays in the dark, and smiles through the tears.
But now… it’s time to tell the truth — and walk out of the prison you’ve normalized.
This workbook isn’t about perfection.
It’s about liberation.
Just like our ancestors, you may have lived years unaware that freedom had already been signed into your destiny.
But today is your Juneteenth moment — your spiritual emancipation proclamation.
Today’s Reflection Questions:
- What truth about your story have you been avoiding?
- What are the chains that still grip your heart?
- What are the behaviors or beliefs you call “normal” that are really just survival tools?
Stop hiding the pain in your performance.
Stop dressing your wounds in silence.
Stop shrinking in rooms you were born to take up space in.
Action Step — “Today I name my chains, so they no longer name me.”
Write it down. Speak it aloud. Call it what it is.
Because when you name it, you strip it of power.
Chains don’t break by accident.
They break when a woman stands in truth and declares:
“Enough is enough. My healing starts NOW.”
You are no longer a slave to survival.
You are no longer just a victim of your past.
You are CHOSEN.
You are CALLED.
You are FREE — and now you’re learning to live like it.
This is Day 1. Let the chains fall.
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