By Shenelle Ball-Green, Host It’s Been a Journey Podcast
Have you ever realized that sometimes the greatest prison isn’t around you—it’s within you? Over the past few weeks on the It’s Been a Journey Podcast, we’ve taken a hard, honest walk through what it means to hold ourselves hostage. We dug deep into the stories of the children of Israel, compared them to our own lives, and discovered that freedom is more than just leaving Egypt—it’s stepping into healing and promise.
This series wasn’t just about identifying bondage. It was about exposing how shame, fear, comfort zones, and self-sabotage keep us locked in cycles. And it was about declaring God’s truth: Deliverance gets you out, but healing makes you whole.
Anchor Scriptures
- Joshua 5:9 — “This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.”
- John 8:36 — “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Key Lessons & Resolutions
1. Recognizing Bondage
Many of us don’t realize we’re still living in Egypt because we’ve learned how to function in dysfunction. Denial is the enemy of deliverance.
Resolution: Be honest with yourself and God about the areas where you are still bound. Healing begins with recognition.
2. Comfortable in Captivity
Israel longed for garlic and onions in Egypt, even though it was a place of slavery. Just like them, we sometimes cling to what’s familiar—even when it’s destroying us.
Resolution: Don’t mistake comfort for freedom. Growth requires leaving the familiar and stepping into the unknown with God.
3. Breaking Emotional Chains
In the Emotional Bail Bond conversation, we uncovered how shame and fear cause us to “bail ourselves out” of healing and run back into old cycles.
Resolution: Stop paying the fee for your own captivity. Instead, invest in prayer, therapy, accountability, and community to stay free.
4. Collaboration with Captors
Sometimes we are our own Pharaoh. By self-sabotaging, idolizing our pain, or excusing dysfunction, we help our captors.
Resolution: Break agreement with the enemy. Set boundaries, cut ties with toxic cycles, and refuse to build golden calves out of your wounds.
5. Moving Into Promise & Healing
Freedom is not the finish line—healing is. God didn’t bring Israel out of Egypt just to wander; He brought them into Canaan. True healing is stepping into joy, forgiveness, and wholeness.
Resolution: Healing looks like thriving, not just surviving. Embrace your identity as whole and free in Christ.
If this series spoke to you, don’t stop here. 🎧 Listen to the full Holding Yourself Hostage series now on Spotify and hear every conversation in depth. Each episode is packed with scriptures, real talk, and strategies for breaking free.
👉 Click here to listen on Spotify
Family, you don’t have to live as a hostage another day. Freedom is your inheritance. Healing is your portion. And your promise is waiting.
The It’s Been a Journey Podcast is all about real, raw, and restorative conversations that help you heal, grow, and walk into purpose. Connect with us—we’d love to hear your journey:
📧 Email: [email protected]
🌐 Social Media: Follow us on all outlets @ItsBeenAJourneyPodcast
Until next time, remember: Don’t just leave Egypt. Step into your promise.