Day 15: The Unstrung Life

Pulpit Puppet Masters and the Curated Gospel Reclaiming the freedom to choose in an age of manufactured faith

Yesterday we met the Stronger One. We saw the strong man bound, the armor stripped, the spoil divided. We heard the invitation to come to Jesus Christ, not to a system, not to a movement, but to Him.

And perhaps you responded. Perhaps something broke loose. Perhaps you felt the strings fall away and the board disappear beneath your feet.

Now what?

This is the question that haunts everyone who steps off the board. The exhilaration of freedom gives way to the vertigo of open space. You know what you’ve left. You’re not sure where you’re going. The strings are cut, but you’ve never walked without them.

Today is for you. For the one standing in the clearing, blinking in the light, wondering what the unstrung life actually looks like.

The Wilderness Between

Let’s name where you are.

You’ve come out of Egypt, but you haven’t reached the Promised Land. You’re in the wilderness. The place between captivity and home. The place where the old provisions have run out and the new ones haven’t appeared yet.

This is disorienting. And it’s supposed to be.

“And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.” (Deuteronomy 8:2)

The wilderness is not punishment. It’s formation. God led Israel there deliberately. Not to abandon them but to humble them, test them, reveal what was in their hearts. The wilderness strips away the false provisions so you learn to depend on the true Provider.

But here’s what you must understand: the wilderness is not the destination.

Some people leave Egypt and never reach Canaan. They camp in the critique. They build an identity around what they’ve left rather than who they’re following. They become professional exiles, experts in what’s wrong with Babylon, but never citizens of the Kingdom.

The wilderness is for passing through, not for settling in.

Grace for the Journey

Before we go further, let me say something clearly:

If you’re still in process, you’re not failing.

Fourteen days of prophetic confrontation can feel like fourteen days of accusation if you’re already wounded. The voice that exposes can sound like the voice that condemns. And some of you have heard enough condemnation to last a lifetime.

So hear this: conviction is not condemnation.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

The Holy Spirit convicts to heal. The enemy condemns to destroy. Conviction draws you toward Jesus Christ. Condemnation drives you away from Him. Conviction is specific, actionable, accompanied by grace. Condemnation is vague, crushing, accompanied by despair.

If you’ve felt convicted over these fourteen days, good. That’s the Shepherd’s voice calling you closer. If you’ve felt condemned, that’s not from Him. Lay it down. He’s not standing over you with a clipboard of failures. He’s standing at the door, knocking, inviting you to eat with Him.

You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to be fully detoxed from the system. You don’t have to perform your freedom perfectly. You just have to keep walking toward Him. Grace does not remove cost. It gives you strength to bear it.

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.” (Isaiah 42:3)

If you’re bruised, He won’t break you. If your flame is faint, He won’t snuff it out. He’s gentle with those in process. Be gentle with yourself.

The Tools Are Not the Enemy

Let me clarify something that fourteen days of critique might have obscured:

The tools are not the enemy. The idolatry is.

Podcasts are not Babylon. Books are not the beast. Conferences are not the mark. Church buildings are not the strong man’s palace. Structure itself is not captivity.

The enemy is anything that demands your loyalty in place of Christ. The enemy is anything that cannot survive His presence. The enemy is anything that offers you a photograph when you need bread.

But a podcast that points you to Jesus Christ and then gets out of the way? That’s a gift.

A book that drives you to Scripture and deepens your hunger for God? That’s a tool in the Shepherd’s hand.

A conference that humbles the speakers and exalts the Savior? That can be holy ground.

A church that gathers around the Word and the Table, that practices the one-anothers, that holds its leaders accountable and its people close? That’s the Body.

The question is never “Is this a system?” The question is “Does this lead me to Jesus Christ or substitute for Him?”

“Test everything; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

Test everything. Not reject everything. Not suspect everything. Test. And what proves good, hold fast. The unstrung life isn’t a life of total isolation from every resource. It’s a life of discernment, receiving what nourishes and releasing what replaces.

What Presence Actually Looks Like

We’ve said repeatedly: Jesus is a Person, not a program. Liberation is relationship, not method.

But for those who’ve only ever known programs, this can feel impossibly vague. How do you relate to a Person you can’t see? How do you practice presence without turning it into another system?

Here are some handles. Not a method. Handles.

Silence.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

The content flood has trained you to fill every silence. Presence begins with stopping. Not productive silence where you’re waiting for the next input. Actual stillness. Letting the noise settle. Creating space where His voice can be heard.

You don’t have to hear anything dramatic. You just have to be there. Available. Unhurried. The relationship is built in the being, not just the hearing.

Scripture as encounter.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)

The Pharisees studied Scripture and missed Jesus. You can do the same. The goal isn’t information extraction. It’s encounter. Read slowly. Read expecting Him to speak. Stop when something catches. Ask Him what He’s showing you. Let the Word read you as much as you read it.

Prayer as conversation.

Not performance. Not formula. Conversation. Tell Him what’s actually happening. Ask Him what He thinks. Listen. You don’t need special language. You don’t need to impress Him. He knows you fully and loves you anyway. Talk to Him like He’s real, because He is.

The Table.

We covered this in Day 10. The communion meal is not mere symbol. It’s encounter. Whether you practice it weekly, daily, or occasionally, approach it as presence, not ritual. He said He would be there. Believe Him.

Obedience as intimacy.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

This isn’t legalism. It’s love. Obedience is how you stay close. When He shows you something, do it. Not to earn His love. Because you already have it and you want more of Him. Every act of obedience is an act of trust. Every step of trust deepens the relationship.

None of these are formulas. They’re postures. Ways of being available to the One who is always available to you.

Community Without Babylon

Day 7 addressed the trap of isolation. The enemy doesn’t mind if you leave the system, as long as you leave alone. The call was never to isolated faith. It was to come out of the false bride and into the true Body.

But what does healthy community look like when you’ve been burned by unhealthy versions?

Here are some marks to look for:

Small over impressive.

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20)

Jesus didn’t set a minimum of two hundred. He said two or three. Stop looking for the impressive gathering. Start looking for the faithful few. A living room with three believers who actually know each other is more Body than an auditorium of strangers.

Mutual over hierarchical.

“Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)

Healthy community has mutual submission, not just submission to leaders. Everyone is accountable. Everyone can speak. Everyone serves. The moment one person becomes untouchable, you’re back on the board.

Presence over production.

No fog machines required. No countdown clocks. No performance. Just people gathering around Jesus Christ, the Word, the Table, and each other. If the production disappeared and no one showed up, it wasn’t community. It was an audience.

The one-anothers practiced.

Love one another. Serve one another. Bear one another’s burdens. Confess to one another. Pray for one another. Forgive one another. Encourage one another. Admonish one another.

These require presence. They require knowing and being known. They cannot be done through a screen or from an auditorium seat. If your community isn’t practicing these, it’s not functioning as the Body.

Freedom to question.

Healthy community welcomes questions. It doesn’t punish doubt or exile those who push back. If you can’t disagree without being labeled divisive, you’re in a control structure, not a family.

Fruit over metrics.

“By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:16)

Not attendance numbers. Not social media following. Not book sales or conference invitations. Fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Are people being transformed into the image of Christ? That’s the only metric that matters.

You Are Not the Elite

One more thing must be said, and it’s important.

Seeing the board does not make you better than those still on it.

The temptation for everyone who wakes up is to look down on those still sleeping. To build a new identity around being the one who sees. To trade one form of pride for another.

But how did you come to see? Did you figure it out through your own brilliance? Or did grace open your eyes?

“For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Everything you have, you received. Including the sight. Including the freedom. Including the unstrung life. It was all gift.

Those still on the board are not your enemies. They’re the spoil not yet divided. They’re the captives not yet freed. They’re what you were before grace interrupted.

Your job is not to despise them. Your job is not to build an identity around being different from them. Your job is to love them enough to tell the truth and humble enough to remember you were there too.

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1)

Restore in gentleness. Keep watch on yourself. The moment you think you’re above the temptation is the moment you’re most vulnerable to it. Day 13 reminded us: the shaking comes for our castles too. Including the castle of spiritual superiority.

What Now?

So what do you actually do tomorrow?

Not a program. Not a method. But some first steps.

Keep coming to Him.

Every day. Not as a discipline to check off. As a lifeline. The unstrung life is sustained by daily connection to the One who cut the strings. You will drift if you don’t stay close. Not because He moves, but because you do.

Find one other person.

You don’t need a church home by next Sunday. But you need someone. One other believer who is also walking this path. Someone who can hold the mirror. Someone who can pray with you and for you. Someone who will tell you the truth. Start there. Let it grow organically.

Practice discernment, not suspicion.

Test everything, but don’t become cynical. Not every voice is a puppet master. Not every leader is compromised. Not every system is Babylon. Ask the Spirit to show you what to receive and what to release. He’s faithful to guide.

Extend the grace you’ve received.

To those still in the system. To leaders who may be more captive than they know. To yourself when you stumble. The unstrung life is not a performance of perfect freedom. It’s a walk of dependent grace.

Keep your eyes on Him.

Not on the problems you’ve left. Not on the purity of your exodus. Not on the failures of others or the failures of yourself. On Him. Jesus Christ. The author and finisher. The Stronger One. The Shepherd who knows your name.

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)

The unstrung life is not about what you’ve escaped. It’s about who you’re following.

Damascus Road Moment

The strings are cut. The board is behind you. The road is ahead. This is the unstrung life.

STOP

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

Stop looking for the next system to join. Stop trying to perform your freedom. Stop building a new identity around what you’ve left. Be still. You are held by the One who holds all things. That’s enough.

LOOK

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

Look at the freedom you’ve been given. Real freedom. Costly freedom. Freedom purchased with blood. Don’t trade it for a new set of strings, even religious ones. Stand firm in the freedom of Christ.

LISTEN

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

Listen for the Shepherd. He knows you. He calls you by name. In the silence, in the Scripture, in the community of the faithful, His voice can be heard. Follow that voice. No other.

LIVE

“Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

Today, take one step into the unstrung life. Sit in silence with Him. Reach out to one other believer. Practice receiving instead of performing. Let the relationship with Jesus Christ be enough.

You were a pawn. You are a person.

You were goods. You are beloved.

You were a piece. You are a child.

The strings are cut. The Stronger One has set you free.

Now walk.

This concludes “Pulpit Puppet Masters and the Curated Gospel: Reclaiming the freedom to choose in an age of manufactured faith.”

The journey continues at onetrulight.org