How to Find Freedom in Faith and Family

Our mission at A Frank Voice is simple, yet rich. Obviously, I’m biased, but hey, bear with me. We’ve never really talked about why we do what we do, or even what our mission is. In the most succinct terms, we’re about freedom and purpose in faith and family.

This is the first in a two-part series where we will unpack what that means and why we’re doing this. Today, we’re talking about Freedom and Purpose in Faith. In a couple of weeks—you guessed it—we’ll be talking about Freedom and Purpose in Family.

Freedom in Faith

What does it mean to have freedom in faith? First, what do I mean by faith? Obviously, at A Frank Voice we have belief in God and His Word. But we not only believe in Him and believe in who He is, we trust in Him and who He is. We have confidence that He is every bit as good as He says He is in His Word.

This kind of confidence and trust is a deeper level of faith altogether. And there is a certain amount of liberty that comes from this faith. There is a healthy freedom that comes with trusting God in everything.

We live in a world and culture where anxiety, depression, doubt, self-condemnation, and self-loathing are arguably at an all-time high. While one wing of culture tries to promote freedom through self-expression and individuality, the undercurrent of that culture tries to constrain and define self-expression and individuality to singular definitions, and if you don’t line up with that dogma, you’re doing it wrong. It’s a weird self-refuting circular logic that is causing more problems than it’s fixing.

In a world where we’re encouraged not to compare to other people, we’re also told the precise ways in which we’re not supposed to compare, and if we don’t line up with that, we’re part of the problem. Everything seems kind of backwards and overly complicated and it’s hard to know exactly what to think about it. Is it any wonder we’re all a little messed up right now?

Often the most confident and “put together” among us are the ones crippled the most by anxiety and struggles—while they seem in charge and confident, they’re actually being torn apart on the inside.

Why is this? The full answer probably warrants its own post, but in short, I think it’s that as a culture, we have largely ignored or forsaken our divine purpose and plan. Now, I get that not everyone is going to be a Christ-follower and that as long as there is sin in the world, there will be religious enmity and strife. I get it.

But at our core, we’re looking for some kind of self-actualization and self-worth. For the most part, we’re finding it through volatile means, rather than any sort of constant.

That’s where freedom in faith comes in.

When we turn ourselves and our faith and our everything over to God, we can experience a new kind of freedom. We can relieve ourselves of so many burdens. Doubt, anxiety, depression, shame—none of that has to define us. If we let it, the weight is crippling.

By contrast, with Jesus our yoke is lightened. With Jesus our burdens are relieved (Matthew 11:28-30). Because no matter how big our doubts, anxieties, depression, shame, or anything is—Jesus is bigger. There is such a comfort and freedom in that truth.

Let that soak in a minute: Jesus is bigger.

So at A Frank Voice, we want to help find the freedom in giving our burdens to Jesus. We want to create encouraging and edifying content that helps silence the voices of anxiety and doubt, instead filling our hearts with the Voice of Truth that tells us we are children of God and our value is in Him.

It’s a sweet truth, but it’s often a quiet truth that is hard to hear over the noise of culture. So we want to amplify it. We want to magnify it. We want to help you find freedom in faith.

Freedom in Family

We are created for community. Our first community is our family. The importance of a faith-filled family cannot be overstated. And it’s not enough to simply be faith-filled and in a family together, to go to church when you’re supposed to and then go on with the rest of life.

The idea is that everything we do as a family is intentionally Jesus-centric. Our conversations, our activities, our everything is designed to point to Christ.

What happens when we are intentionally faith-filled in our families? A special kind of freedom that comes from knowing we are all going the same direction.

It’s a picture of being able to bear in one another’s burdens in a powerful way. It’s the idea of pouring into a confident heritage of curse-breakers and legacy-keepers. It’s about pouring into the generations that are to come and knowing the impact we can make for the Kingdom.

When we can focus on what it means to do life together and to pour into a singular, Biblical focus together in our homes first, everything can become just a little bit lighter.

Now, I understand that family can be a tough subject for many, and while A Frank Voice will often focus on the literal family (matters of marriage, parenting, and otherwise) this extends to people who are as close or closer than family. This can be a close group of friends, mentors, people who have influenced you, or whoever else is close in your life. As we make much of God in our families and close circles, we can experience a freedom that comes from community, and that’s a powerful thing.

The Impact of Freedom

I have shared that my word and vision for the year is IMPACT. I want to cut out the fluff in my life—the meaningless things that have no eternal implications or legacy-building value whatsoever. So everything I do is filtered through its impact.

Additionally, at A Frank Voice, we want to make sure everything we do points toward finding freedom and purpose in faith and family. So expect content this year to focus in these areas as we hope to give you encouragement and hopefully free you from the assailants of this world.

The power of the Gospel provides freedom for us today. Rest in that, and hold your head a little higher.