ROOTED RENEGADE

Let’s jump right in and talk about those who have been incarcerated and the weight they had to carry with physical shackles often times in a three point restraint system. For most prisoners, whether they were still under the burden of proof (meaning they had were still considered innocent) or had already been proven guilty, depending upon their risk level in the jail, they had a restraint system in the jail for their level. High risk and violent offenders were under a three point restraint system which meant they were three point shackled – hands, waist and feet and then chains ran in between those cuffs at the hand and the feet and locked at the waist. It was an extremely uncomfortable restraint system. Mind you, I still said they received this restraint even if they had not been proven to be guilty in a court of law – it didn’t matter what other people thought as the burden of proof falls on the criminal justice system.

To that point, less serious offenders were only to wear restraints like handcuffs and not three point restraints, and some who were considered medium risk offenders would have to wear the two point restraints which were the handcuffs and waist restraints which would be chains around the waist which would lock in with the cuffs.

Why does this matter right? They broke the law?! They deserve it right? Maybe. Yes. No. Is that for us to decide. Maybe. Yes. No. ? That’s not the point.

After spending 8 months in maximum security county jail for possession of a legally purchased weapon because I wanted to protect myself from my traffickers and possession of drugs my perspective is very different. You see I was never meant to be shackled. I was not a violent offender nor did my charges warrant maximum security. But I learned something while I was in there. I learned that I became a part of a broken system that labeled me before I had a chance to once again to defend myself. I was guilty until proven innocent. No one asked me what happened to me to lead to me purchasing a weapon to protect myself. No one asked me anything related to the trauma I was experiencing. It was quite the opposite. I was shackled in a three point restraint system and treated like a violent offender like I had committed murder. And I carried that weight and label for a very long time. Like many who have been incarcerated carry it.

So why am I sharing this? Why does it matter about the shackles and the labels? Why does God care about how we walk after incarceration?

As I was listening to a song by Lecrae and listening to him talk about removing the shackles so he could dance again, I was reminded by the Lord that many of His people who have been incarcerated don’t remove the shackles from their mind, emotions, or actions after He has freed them from the actual prison or jail. Similar to the Israelites after they were freed from slavery after 400 years (Exodus 1-14). The mindset goes out the prison, the emotions follow, and so do the same actions. You see when I was released from jail, I still had to stop wanting to get up at 5am headcount because I became conditioned to the same wake up and bed times. I was so conditioned to the door clicking open and closed that I would hear it in my sleep and it was hard for me to adjust to life on the outside. I was used to the same water on my skin, cold showers, two blade razors, three minute showers, food, etc. My skin was even used to the climate controlled environment that normal seasonal weather was really harsh to my bare skin. My body and mind had a really hard time adjusting and I was only in for eight months. I used the same dial soap for four years – it is called conditioning. Conditioning can stay with you for years if you don’t address where you are stuck and allow the Lord into those places to be healed. You are free. Remember that. Conditioning of the mind and actions can be released off of you and changed.

Now to the shackles. I had grown so accustomed to wearing a three point restraint system that my ankles had grown callous from the cuts that the shackles caused them (double socks never worked they always put them on too tight). My wrists are small so of course they finally grew accustom to not hurting anymore and my waist did as well. I was always being moved to a different pod for the first five months and I was going to medical or court so me and the restraints became friends. No I am not kidding. I really grew accustomed to wearing restraints and being moved until finally things settled down after I had an encounter with Jesus that changed me and put me on the path I am on now. I still had to wear the restraints for court and medical, but I wasn’t being moved until I was finally set free. However, I carried the mindset of being restrained well after I was freed from jail. In fact, I carried it so much that I didn’t realized that shackles were more than just physical but spiritual. When other’s place shackles on you in the natural you are wearing them spiritually because you are unable to see or experience real freedom. You don’t understand your spiritual authority. You don’t fully understand or fully experience the love of Christ and what He did for you on the cross. You don’t understand or feel the grace that He has bestowed upon you because there is a block to you receiving and it is in your mindset and actions. Sure you can be spiritually in-tune with the Lord and the Holy Spirit, but you will not be spiritually mature until you remove the blockages that are holding you back. Don’t be a drifter but saying – “that’s not me – I didn’t take those shackles with me”!

Friends can I tell you that my experience with the shackles in not uncommon. Many people incarcerated learn to embrace restraints because it becomes part of their identity while they are locked up. So much so they become restrained in their mind, body, soul, emotions, and actions. Like me, they start not understanding that has happened and I am sure I am not the only one who has done this, but by the time I was given release I knew how to run in my shackles so they wouldn’t cut my ankles anymore. You see you learn what you have to when you have no other options.

But God is saying today that it is time to let go of that mindset. It is time to let go of the restraints in the mind, body, soul, and start letting those shackles that have held you since your incarceration. You may think you left those in the jail, but friend I am here to tell you that somewhere deep down inside there is something that takes you right back to that cell and the Lord is wanting to heal you! He is wanting to fully release you from that prison or jail experience so that you can be His mouthpiece and feet and hands to help others to do the same. Your experience was what it was – but it is NOT WASTED.

Nothing about your life will ever be wasted by the Lord. Nothing. You just have to get to this place where you will let Him come into those spaces and remove the shackles so you can get your dance back!

I hope you are ready to start dancing again! I know my shackles are being danced on right now!

Faythe