Have you ever faced a difficult season and found yourself so focused on what you’re going through that you forgot what God has already brought you through?

In this short episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, we reflect on God’s faithfulness and the importance of remaining steadfast through life’s trials and tribulations.

Inspired by the song You’ve Been So Faithful by Eddie James and the Phoenix Mass Choir, we explore Lamentations 3:21–23 and Psalm 23:6, remembering that God’s grace and mercy are present in every season of our lives.

Whether you’re experiencing disappointment, waiting on an answered prayer, or navigating unexpected challenges, this episode encourages you to hold on to God’s unchanging hand, reflect on His goodness, and remain faithful regardless of what happens next.

Your Freedom Moment: Don’t become so consumed with what you’re going through that you forget what God has already brought you through.

Scriptures: Lamentations 3:21–23 | Psalm 23:6

Reflection: Take a moment this week to look back at God’s receipts. Where have His grace and mercy shown up in your life?

Learn more about Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God at FreedomEncourages.com⁠.

Have you ever wondered if God can still use you after everything you’ve done?

In Episode 179 of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia M. Columbus shares her personal journey through church hurt, walking away from ministry, and rediscovering God’s grace and mercy.

Through the story of Jonah, discover how genuine repentance, forgiveness, and surrender can help you move beyond your past and find the courage to answer God’s call again.

Remember: Being a work in progress doesn’t mean God has abandoned the work.

Scriptures: Jonah 3:1 | Philippians 1:6

🦋 Connect with Cecilia M. Columbus
Author | Speaker | Certified Forgiveness Coach

Website: FreedomEncourages.com⁠
Book: Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God

Follow, share, and leave a review to help other women find their freedom!

Have you ever wondered why you keep struggling with the same things, even though you love God, attend church, pray, and read your Bible?

You can be active in church, serve in ministry, and know Scripture while still struggling with sin, guilt, shame, and patterns you’re trying to break. But what happens when you realize that doing church isn’t the same as developing a genuine relationship with God?

In this episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia Columbus shares her personal journey of growing up in church, struggling with sexual sin, and discovering how understanding God’s love, grace, and mercy changed her approach to repentance and spiritual growth.

Together, we’ll explore the difference between religion and relationship, why feeling guilty isn’t the same as repentance, and how to begin making choices that reflect your faith.

Drawing from Romans 2:4 and James 1:22, this conversation reminds us that spiritual growth isn’t about pretending to have everything together. It’s about being honest with God, allowing His Word to transform us, and taking one step toward lasting change.

Your Freedom Moment: You can know how to do church and still be learning how to surrender your life to God.

One Step Closer to Freedom: Identify one pattern you’ve been struggling with, recognize what triggers it, and choose one different response you can practice this week.

You don’t have to hide your struggles from God. His grace invites you to come honestly, repent, and continue growing.

📖 Continue Your Journey to Freedom

Discover more about healing, forgiveness, and spiritual growth in Cecilia’s book, Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God, available on Amazon.

Until next time, remember: God has already given you everything you need to rise. Your flaws and all.

Have you ever known you probably shouldn’t do something—and did it anyway?

Sometimes the problem isn’t that we don’t know what to do. Sometimes we know, but what we know is colliding with what we want.

In this episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia Columbus continues exploring lessons from her book, Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God, with a powerful reflection inspired by Chapter 2, “Curiosity, Consequence, and the Call to Obedience.”

Cecilia explores the difference between hearing God and surrendering to what He is saying, why we sometimes keep asking God for clarity when we may already know the next step, and what our struggle with obedience can reveal about what is happening beneath the surface.

Sometimes we aren’t confused—we’re conflicted.

Confusion says, “I don’t know what to do.”

Conflict says, “I know what I should do, but something in me wants something different.”

In this episode, you’ll reflect on questions like: Am I struggling with fear, loneliness, rejection, impatience, curiosity, the need for acceptance, or the desire to control the outcome? Am I asking God for more direction—or struggling to surrender to what I already know?

Scripture: James 1:22

📖 Get the Book

In Chapter 2 of Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God, Cecilia shares personal experiences involving curiosity, choices, consequences, and lessons about obedience that she intentionally does not reveal in this episode.

Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God
By Cecilia M. Columbus
Available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

Connect With Cecilia

How do you heal from past hurt when the person who hurt you never apologizes, changes, or gives you closure?

In this episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia Columbus explores what it means to take responsibility for your healing without taking responsibility for what happened to you.

Inspired by Chapter 1 of her book, Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God, Cecilia shares how unresolved hurt, rejection, church hurt, abuse, unforgiveness, and limiting beliefs can become emotional and spiritual blockages that keep us stuck.

She also reflects on Romans 8:28 and a powerful truth: something doesn’t have to be good for God to work it for your good.

In this episode, you’ll discover how to identify what may be blocking your healing, stop waiting for someone else to give you permission to move forward, and begin asking a different question: “God, what can You do with what happened?”

Your past may have affected you, but it does not have to have the final say over what happens next.

In this episode: healing from past hurt, forgiveness, emotional healing, letting go of blame, finding closure, overcoming rejection, church hurt, breaking unhealthy patterns, Christian personal growth, Romans 8:28, and finding freedom in God.

If this episode encourages you, follow the Rise to Freedom Podcast and share it with another woman who may need this reminder.

God has already given you everything you need to rise—flaws and all.

Connect with Cecilia

Free Resource: Visit FreedomEncourages.com to download the free It’s Time to Stop Shrinking Back workbook.

How do you know when to keep going, pivot, wait, or let go? In this episode, Cecilia explores James 1 and the connection between adversity, perseverance, wisdom, and discernment.

Sometimes we over-spiritualize every obstacle as a sign—but adversity isn’t always instruction.

Freedom Moment: Endurance keeps you from quitting prematurely, but wisdom keeps you from persevering blindly.

Follow Rise to Freedom Podcast for faith-based encouragement on healing, growth, identity, and purpose.

How do you trust God when you don’t know what’s next? Sometimes we want God to show us the entire journey before we’re willing to take the next step. But faith often requires us to move without knowing exactly how everything will work out.

In this episode of Rise to Freedom, Cecilia M. Columbus shares what she learned from walking through a painful season when she couldn’t see what God was doing or how the experience would develop her. She explores Proverbs 3:5–6 and 2 Timothy 1:7, the fear that can surface when the future is uncertain, and why you don’t have to wait until you feel fearless to move forward.

You’ll be encouraged to stop demanding tomorrow’s information before making today’s decision, recognize when fear is filling in the blanks, and trust God with the parts of the journey you cannot see.

Freedom Moment: You do not need the whole story to trust the Author.

If you’re navigating uncertainty, making a difficult decision, wondering what God is doing, or struggling to trust Him with your future, this episode is for you.

Follow Rise to Freedom for weekly faith-based encouragement on healing, confidence, purpose, overcoming fear, and learning to trust God through the process.

Do you already know what you need to do—but keep hesitating to take the next step?

Sometimes the problem isn’t that we need more direction. We already know. But fear, self-doubt, comparison, feeling unqualified, and waiting until we feel completely ready can keep us from acting on what we already know.

In this episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia shares a recent experience where an opportunity she had wanted finally showed up—and her first instinct was to give it to someone she thought was more qualified.

That moment led to a powerful realization: knowing your next step and believing you’re ready to take it are two different things.

We’ll talk about how to recognize what’s causing your hesitation, connect the dots between your past experiences and your present opportunities, and trust that you may be more prepared than you think.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Recognize fear, comparison, and self-doubt
• Stop automatically disqualifying yourself
• Identify how past experiences may have prepared you
• Stop waiting until you feel completely ready
• Close the gap between knowing and doing
• Take one practical step toward what you already know you need to do

Sometimes you don’t need another sign or another answer.

Sometimes you need the courage to act on what you already know.

Follow the Rise to Freedom Podcast for weekly conversations about Christian personal growth, healing, identity, faith, purpose, overcoming self-doubt, and confidently walking in what God has called you to do.

Connect with Cecilia and find more resources at FreedomEncourages.com.