Rise to Freedom

Cecilia Columbus

5.0 (3)
Self-Improvement
Updated Weekly

Rise to Freedom is a faith-based personal growth podcast for women seeking healing, encouragement, and emotional freedom. Hosted by Author and Certified Forgiveness Coach Cecilia Columbus, each episode offers faith-filled reflection and practical encouragement to help you release past hurt, overcome self-doubt, and move forward with clarity, peace, and purpose.

3d ago

How to Trust God When You Don’t Know What’s Next

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.
Sep 4

How to Stop Hesitating and Take the Next Step God Is Calling You to Take

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-doubtStop automatically disqualifying yourselfIdentify how past experiences may have prepared youStop waiting until you feel completely readyClose the gap between knowing and doingTake one practical step toward what you already know you need to doSometimes 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.
Aug 28

How to Find Your Purpose and Become the Woman God Called You to Be

Have you been trying so hard to become a better version of yourself that you haven’t stopped to recognize how much you’ve already grown? In this special 2-year anniversary and 172nd episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia reflects on old journal entries, affirmations, and prayers from five and even twelve years ago—and discovers that the clues to her purpose were there all along. We’re talking about finding your God-given purpose, healing from the past, trusting God, recognizing personal growth, and learning to become confident in the woman God created you to be. You’ll also discover why purpose doesn’t always look like a platform, title, or pulpit—and why you may already be walking in your calling without realizing it. In this episode: How to recognize the growth you may be overlookingWhy your past struggles can reveal clues about your purposeThe difference between constantly “becoming” and learning to beHow to recognize recurring threads in your life and callingWhy impact doesn’t have to be visible to be meaningfulHow surrender helps you release the outcome after you’ve done your partIf you’ve been asking “What is my purpose?” “Who did God create me to be?” or “Am I actually making progress?”, this episode is for you. Follow the Rise to Freedom Podcast as we continue the journey from healing into freedom, identity, purpose, and confidently walking with God. Learn more about Cecilia’s journey and Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God at FreedomEncourages.com.
Aug 21

How to Surrender Everything to God | What It Really Means to Surrender All

What does it really mean to surrender everything to God? Sometimes we give God the situation while still holding onto the outcome, the timeline, our expectations, and our need to know what happens next. Continue your healing journey: Get Breaking the Chains on Amazon⁠ More encouragement & resources: FreedomEncourages.com⁠ Connect with Cecilia: freedomencourages@gmail.com In this Freedom Friday episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia explores how to surrender to God, let go of control, trust God’s timing, and recognize the areas of your life you may not have fully surrendered. You’ll learn three practical ways to examine what you’re still holding onto: Identify what you’re trying to control.Ask what you’re afraid will happen if you truly give it to God.Consider whether you’ve surrendered the situation but kept control of the outcome.Surrender doesn’t always mean giving up or walking away. Sometimes it means continuing to obey God while trusting Him with the results. One Step Closer to Freedom: Finish this sentence: “God, the thing I am having the hardest time completely surrendering to You is…” Then ask: What am I actually holding onto, and what would surrender look like in this situation today? You don’t have to know everything that’s coming. Trust the One who’s leading you. If this episode encourages you, follow the Rise to Freedom Podcast, leave a review, and share it with another woman who may be struggling to let go and trust God. God has already given you everything you need to rise, flaws and all.
Aug 14

How to Stop Letting Your Past Define You

What happened to you may be part of your story, but it does not have to define your identity, your worth, or who God is calling you to become. 📖 Get Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God Amazon⁠: https://a.co/d/0hoVBUnr 🌐 Healing, faith & encouragement: FreedomEncourages.com⁠ 📧 Connect with Cecilia: freedomencourages@gmail.com In this episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia shares a personal excerpt from Breaking the Chains and explores how rejection, failure, painful relationships, and past mistakes can become identities God never gave us. You may have failed, but you are not a failure. You may have experienced rejection, but that doesn’t make you unworthy. You may have experienced brokenness, but broken is not your identity. Discover how to identify negative beliefs, stop measuring yourself by someone else’s standards, separate what happened to you from who you are, and begin seeing yourself through the truth of who God says you are. One Step Closer to Freedom: Ask yourself: Who told me this? What experience made me believe it? And is this actually what God says about me? What happened to you is part of your story. It is not the whole story, and it does not get to become your name. If this episode encourages you, follow the Rise to Freedom Podcast, leave a review, and share it with another woman who needs this reminder. God has already given you everything you need to rise, flaws and all.
Aug 7

How to Stop Letting Other People Define You | See Yourself the Way God Sees You

Are you struggling with what other people think about you, questioning your worth, or allowing your past to define who you are? Learning how to see yourself the way God sees you can help you stop seeking validation, overcome fear and self-doubt, and confidently walk in your God-given purpose. In this episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia Columbus continues the conversation from Luke 7 and the woman with the alabaster box. Last week, we talked about how to come to Jesus when you don’t feel worthy. This week, we’re taking the conversation one step further. What if the woman in Luke 7 had allowed the Pharisee’s opinion of her, her reputation, or her own fear to stop her from walking into the room? Sometimes we do the same thing. We allow other people’s opinions, our past mistakes, fear of rejection, or feelings of inadequacy to influence decisions that should be made from a place of faith instead of fear. In this episode, you’ll discover how to: Recognize when you’re making decisions from fear instead of faithStop allowing other people’s opinions to define youSee yourself through the truth of who God says you areStop waiting for validation or permission from other peopleTake your next faithful step toward your God-given purposeYour past didn’t surprise God. Your mistakes don’t have to define your future. And someone else’s opinion of you doesn’t get the final word over who God is calling you to become. One Step Closer to Freedom: Ask yourself: If fear wasn’t making this decision, what would faith do? Sit with that question this week. Your answer may reveal the next step you’ve been afraid to take. Continue Your Journey If you’re ready to go deeper in your journey of healing, forgiveness, and freedom, read Cecilia Columbus’ book, Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God. Get Breaking the Chains on Amazon⁠ For more encouragement and resources, visit: Freedom Encourages⁠ Connect with Cecilia: 📧 freedomencourages@gmail.com If this episode encouraged you, follow the Rise to Freedom Podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with another woman who may be allowing fear, her past, or other people’s opinions to keep her from becoming who God is calling her to be. God has already given you everything you need to rise, flaws and all.
Jul 31

HOW TO COME TO JESUS WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL WORTHY

Have you ever wondered if you’ve made too many mistakes for Jesus to love you? In this episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia Columbus shares a heartfelt reflection from Luke 7 and the story of the woman with the alabaster box (alabaster jar) to answer an important question: How do you come to Jesus when you don’t feel worthy? If shame, guilt, regret, or your past has made you feel like you’re too far gone for God’s love, this episode is for you. Through Scripture and her own personal testimony, Cecilia shares how she once believed she had to clean up her life before coming to Christ—and how Luke 7 revealed the truth: Jesus already knows your past, yet He still invites you to come. In this episode, you’ll discover: How to come to Jesus when you don’t feel worthyWhat the woman with the alabaster box teaches us about grace and forgivenessWhy shame is one of the biggest obstacles to experiencing God’s loveThree practical steps to stop letting shame keep you from JesusHow to embrace God’s mercy, forgiveness, and purpose for your lifeIf this episode encourages you, visit FreedomEncourages.com to learn more about the Rise to Freedom mission and explore Cecilia’s book, Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God. If this message speaks to you, be sure to follow the podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs the reminder that it’s never too late to come to Jesus.
Jul 24

How to Stop Living From Yesterday’s Storm | Trusting God Through Difficult Seasons

🎁 FREE DOWNLOAD: How to Stop Shrinking Back If fear, self-doubt, or past disappointments have been keeping you stuck, download your free workbook here: https://FreedomEncourages.com Have you ever found yourself living from yesterday’s storm? In this episode of the Rise to Freedom Podcast, Cecilia Columbus shares a powerful lesson God taught her through a series of Florida storms. What began as an ordinary week became a reminder that our perspective can change everything. If you’ve been struggling with fear, regret, disappointment, church hurt, shame, or wondering if you’ve missed God’s purpose, this episode will encourage you to stop building your identity around a season God is already moving you through. Together we’ll explore: Why some storms never reach usHow fear causes us to expect the worstWhat Jesus teaches us in Mark 4 about trusting God in the middle of life’s stormsHow to stop allowing yesterday’s pain to define today’s purposeFreedom Moment: “Don’t build your identity around a season God is already moving you through.” If this episode encouraged you, please follow the podcast, leave a 5-star review, and share it with a woman who needs this reminder today. 📖 Scripture: Mark 4:35-41 🌐 Website: FreedomEncourages.com 📚 Book: Breaking the Chains: Finding Healing, Forgiveness, and Freedom in God

5

out of 5

3 Ratings

Rise to Freedom is a faith-based personal growth podcast for women seeking healing, encouragement, and emotional freedom. Hosted by Author and Certified Forgiveness Coach Cecilia Columbus, each episode offers faith-filled reflection and practical encouragement to help you release past hurt, overcome self-doubt, and move forward with clarity, peace, and purpose.

Creator

Cecilia Columbus
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

169
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Cecilia Columbus
Show Website

Rise to Freedom