As I thought about Independence Day this year, I read about one of the first celebrations, on July 4th 1777.

The patriots were celebrating one year of a new country, new independence, and a new endeavor.

“Freedom must be declared before it is realized.”

The rest of the world? Well the rest of the world didn’t even regard us as a country. Had you asked a Londoner what he thought of the new country, he might have laughed. Freedom had been declared, but it would be a long time before that freedom was won. Six more years of battle, uncertainty, and pain were ahead before the British surrendered in the war.

But that didn’t keep our founders from declaring their freedom, living as if they were free, and believing that it would one day come to pass. Despite the overwhelming circumstances surrounding them, the cost before them, and the uncertainty ahead of them, our founders declared freedom, believed in their freedom, and even celebrated it….long before it was a reality.

That was a new insight for me, and may be the best Independence Day spiritual lesson I’ve heard.

Freedom must be declared before it is realized. It must be lived into, believed in, and trusted before it’s ever a concrete reality. That’s a core lesson in the Bible and on the road of faith.

Follow our founders, and the lessons of the Word. Declare a freedom in your life today. Believe it no matter the circumstances surrounding you. For freedom declared is the pathway to freedom realized.