Step into a new day / We can rise up from the dust and walk away / We can dance upon the heartache, yeah / So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships / And don't you look back

Inspired by a close-to-home situation of overcoming shame and addiction, "Burn The Ships" is a call to find freedom from the ties that keep us bound and move forward in Jesus.
 
# 1 Know that Jesus can transform you

Burn the ships, cut the ties / Send a flare into the night / Say a prayer, turn the tide / Dry your tears and wave goodbye

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we learn that "anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
 
This verse doesn't just mean that our old sins and our old status of guiltiness before God are wiped away when we get saved and we stand before God holy and blameless because of Jesus (although it does mean that!). Even more, though, Jesus doesn't just make a pronouncement that we are free from sin and from our past; He works that truth out in our lives and makes it a lived reality.  Jesus is in the business of transforming people. 

Where do you need to experience the transforming work of Jesus in your life right now? What circumstances in your life have you just become comfortable with? What problem in your life have you given up hope asking God to intervene? What destructive habits do you need the power of Jesus to turn from?

Maybe you need emotional or physical healing. Maybe you need to forgive someone and reach for a restored relationship. Maybe it's a sin or an addiction. Maybe it's a trial or burden in your life that just won't seem to break. Maybe it's a negative thought pattern about yourself that doesn't match what God says about you. Maybe it's a destructive pattern in your family and you need God to teach you how to overcome that in your own life and start a new legacy for your family. It could be all kinds of things.

#2 Welcome the work of Jesus in your life

Don't let it arrest you / This fear, this fear of fallin' again / And if you need a refuge / I will be right here until the end

Remember the struggle you named earlier? Have you let Jesus into that area? I know I try to hide things from God sometimes by not acknowledging them or not talking to Him about them because I'm afraid to face things. I feel like if I can just pretend whatever the issue is isn't there, then it's not real and I don't have to go through the emotions of feeling and facing whatever's going on in my life. But here's the thing: God is not intimidated by our raw vulnerability and we don't have to be either. God welcomes our vulnerability, and that's the first step in finding freedom. 

Whatever the situation in your life, acknowledge it before God and talk to Him about it. Tell Him that you need and want His help to overcome. (Philippians 4:6-7)

One of my favorite lyrics in "Burn The Ships" is "and if you need a refuge, I will be right here until the end." Part of the process of letting God into the situations in our lives to bring transformation is letting God's people into that process too. So much of the work God does in our lives happens in the context of relationships with people. James 5:16 says, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." It doesn't have to apply only to sin though. The underlying truth is that vulnerability with others joined with God's power at work brings about healing in our lives.

Vulnerability with others about what we're going through helps lift some of the burdens off of our hearts, deepens our relationships, opens the door for others to pray for us and fight for us, and God uses those things to help bring healing into our lives.

Lean into the trusted relationships and spiritual community in your life that will love you, fight with you and help point you to Jesus. Seek help and support from friends, family, pastors, counselors. You don't have to seek transformation and freedom alone. You have God and you have His people. 

Final Thoughts

Because of Jesus, you don't have to stay tethered to the sin or pain of your past. You don't have to stay tethered to things in your life that you need and want to let go of. You can follow Jesus forward. It will take some fight. It probably won't all change in an instant, but you can start a journey with Jesus today, following Him step-by-step as He does His work of transformation and freedom in your life. And with Him, you can burn the ships and turn the tide. (Romans 8:31-39)

"Burn The Ships" is the title track from For King & Country's latest release. Buy it on Apple Music or stream it on Spotify. Read the full lyrics to "Burn The Ships" here.