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Discuss (from personal experience, if possible) how the loss of freedom is related to the pursuit of hidden goals.
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The capacity of choose, as Dr. Crabb describes, has been corrupted into the feeling of loss of freedom. I’m no longer at the job I thought I’d retire from. Therefore, I’m not seeing the situation as a “God moment” for rediscovery, a chance to reflect His Glory and desire for my life more, or to serve in a capacity that He wanted me to go into, which I may not have even seen.
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We lose our freedom when we become slaves to achieving our desires. We gain freedom when we realize we don’t have to have anything but God.
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If we set goals that we hope to achieve, we may focus on them and miss out on the more important things of life. If men have work related goals that take precedence in their lives, their wives and families suffer from the husbands not being there when their families need them. Relationships suffer.
If women have goals for being a mum to their children, they may achieve their goals but lose the relationship with their children that they truly desire too.
My mother suffered from depression. Her unspoken goal was peace, I can see now. She didn’t achieve it and blamed her family for not allowing her to achieve it.
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The loss of freedom results in a pain we attempt to stop by seeking second things.
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Our deepest desire should be to have a heart for God and to bear the image of God. We have the freedom to do this with the help of the Holy Spirit. But when our appetite for God becomes less important than other things; things that seem important and necessary, we lose our freedom and our capacity to make good choice is corrupted. When this happens, the hidden goals of our flesh take over and directs our actions.