For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NLT)
A couple of weeks ago, I did something that at the time seemed good. However, immediately after I did it, I felt this twinge of doubt. I had decided to do something that involved someone else but I didn't ask them first. I knew the twinge was probably because I wasn't respecting the other person and giving them the honor that was due to them.
On the big scale of things, this doesn't seem so bad. I reasoned that I was going to fix it and no one would ever know and all would be well. But, as days slipped by and it was not rectified, I also reasoned away the prick of my conscious.
Finally, one day during my worship, I felt the Holy Spirit, with more force than a twinge or a prick, tell me to deal with it. Not only did I need to fix the mistake I made but I had to tell the person I had ignored and apologize.
To be clear, I did not want to do this because well, admitting you are wrong and apologizing, that's hard for this sometimes wayward human heart. But I knew God's voice was not going to get quieter and that if I didn't listen and he stopped talking about it, I would have dishonored my relationship with him. While the other unknowing person in this situation would probably never have known, God always does. I had a choice to make.
My relationship with God is more important to me than my pride so I fixed the situation, went to the person, told them what happened and apologized. They were gracious and forgiving.
The next thing I felt was relief. I'd been carrying that around for two or so weeks and I could feel it festering in my soul. Suddenly, it was gone. I was freed from that thing that was invading my walk with man and my walk with God. There are all sorts of freedoms that we can celebrate today but, the ability to live free in your heart is the very best one.