TRUE FREEDOM
ISN’T INDEPENDENCE AT ALL … BUT RATHER A TOTAL DEPENDENCE UPON GOD! Allow me, please, to share something
I wrote back in 1999 for our then-church family in my monthly, “Ponderings from
the Pastor’s Wife”. God brought a part
of it to my mind yesterday, and I knew this would be my message to you, our now-church
family!! Here it is!
Morning will soon be dawning.
This is such a perfect time to think … to do some soul-searching. I love the peace and solitude of the pre-dawn
hours before the world awakens to its runaway schedules. Nothing compares … especially when the only
one to communicate with is the Lord Almighty – my Lord! At this hour of the day (night?) I find God
to be even more personal … I find Him to be even closer to me ~ no, I think it’s
that I’m closer to Him. Yet, amazingly
enough, I find specific instances when I’m in the middle of the most demanding,
hectic, noisy schedule, that He’s as close as He could ever be. I find myself so aware of the presence of
God, that I have to smile as I shake my head in amazement! Sometimes, it’s His voice I hear ~ there’s no
mistaking it! Sometimes, it’s just an
extra sense of being upheld and cradled in the palm of His hands ~ how
reassuring it is! And at other times, it’s
something that happens ~ and I know that no other could have arranged such an occurrence
at just that precise moment! Just my
Lord!
It’s like a TV commercial I saw the other night. (Remember this is 1999!) This man comes into a town and makes it his
mission to “convert” all the townspeople over to his newly discovered brand of
cellular phone … “the best there is,” according to him. You can tell he really believes in his
product, and he wants everyone else to have the same benefits he now knows
about! I was reminded how so often when
I experience something deeper, something more precious, some eye-opener in my
walk with the Lord, I just want to “drive into town” and “tell everyone” what I’ve
discovered ~ that they need the best connection there is! The best, being Jesus!
As our country’s celebration of the Fourth of July nears, our
thoughts turn to freedom … Independence Day!
Just what does freedom really mean?
I remember growing up and some of the phrases I’d hear, like, “Your
freedom ends where someone else’s begins” or “With freedom comes responsibility”. You’ve most likely heard them, plus many
others. More and more, I’m realizing that
true freedom isn’t independence at all, but rather a total dependence upon God. And independence is actually when I
insist on doing it my own way. My
moments of greatest freedom come at the times I’m most dependent on God for the
answer, when I need Him the most to be my total Source. Living that kind of lifestyle is
comparatively much more exciting than attempting to find my own answers, trying
to do it all in my own strength.
There’s a Disney children’s story that our sons all loved to
have me read them when they were small.
It went something like this … A young sailor was swept onto shore during
a storm at sea, and when he revived and awakened, he discovered he could not
move. Upon closer inspection, he soon
discovered that his body was criss-crossed with dozens of ropes anchored to
pegs in the beach. A few more looks revealed
to the sailor that his captors were tiny, miniature people frightened by his
normal size – to them, he was huge. For
the first few days, the men stood guard; the women brought him bread and
fruit. The children were the first to
lose their fear and to play near him, then they began to climb all over
him. Finally one day trust overcame their
fear, and the little people of Lilliput cut the ropes and freed the “giant”
stranger who had been washed to their shores.
And just in time … for pirate ships were appearing on the horizon, and
the Lilliputians had no way to defend themselves. King Lilliput climbed into the palm of the sailor’s
hand, and the sailor walked out into the water.
At the command of the King, the sailor inhaled deeply and then blew the
tiny pirate ships far away to the ends of the horizon!! The country of Lilliput was safe … and the
tiny people were glad they had freed the “huge” sailor who had become their
friend and saved them, giving them freedom from their enemy!
Sometimes, in my own strength, I, too, get all wrapped up in “ropes”
that strap me down. Freedom escapes
me. I find myself “tied down” by this
commitment and that appointment and this schedule and that deadline … ‘til I’m
so criss-crossed with “ropes” that I’m prohibited from doing anything. So now, when I start feeling the “constraints
of captivity” ~ I run for the “scissors” to set myself free. The other day I ran to Jesus … He’s got the
scissors to cut me free, you know.
Actually, I crawled, because the ropes were getting quite constricting. But when I got there, I just sat there at His
feet for a while. It was great! At first, neither of us said anything. He didn’t have to. And I couldn’t. In my frazzled condition, I just sat there and
soaked in the warmth of His presence ~ it just felt good to be near Him. I felt safe, secure. I breathed in deep. It was like I breathed Him right into me, and
when I exhaled, the most incredible thing happened. One of the ropes came loose and fell at my
side. I looked at Him. He smiled at me. I felt more cares melting away. More ropes dropped away. I sat there in His presence, still … for I
don’t know how long. He eyes turned to
His Book. I reached for it and gently,
eagerly opened it. Now He spoke to me,
as I read. It was like He had written
these pages just for me. How wondrous
His scissors are! Rope after rope was
being cut away, ‘til I sat there, free to go.
I could move. But I didn’t want
to leave. At least not for a while
longer. So I stayed longer, filling myself
with all I’d need to face the “new rope tricks” out there. This time, I prayed for discernment to
recognize them, to take authority over them.
I prayed that no matter where I am, no matter what I have, that I will
always be totally dependent on God … then I will truly be free!
The other day, before I ran to God for His scissors, I missed an
important event. Well, it could have
been an important event. I missed
stopping at a lemonade stand with two little girls by the side of the street,
and because the ropes were tightening so much, I didn’t feel free to take the
time. I’ve regretted it ever since. I’m sure they didn’t miss my coins as much as
I missed giving them and getting their sweet drink. I lost that opportunity … but you can be sure
I will stop at the next lemonade stand I see, ‘cuz I won’t have any
ropes tying me down! And if I feel any starting
to strap me down again, I’ll just ask my Father to start snipping!
Are you feeling frazzled instead of free? Then we need to learn to think like Him. Peter, in his first book by his name, in
chapter four, tells us this: “Since
Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think
like Him. Think of your suffering as a
weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own
way. Then you’ll be able to live out
your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you
want. Everything in the world is about
to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted.
Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most
of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed
to the homeless ~ cheerfully. Be
generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get
in on it: if words, let it be God’s
words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help.
That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus,
and He’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything ~ encores
to the end of time. Oh, yes!” (The Message Bible – I Peter 4:1-2, 7-11)
Happy rope-cutting!
Celebrate your freedom, dear ones!
REMEMBER . . .
“Your Heavenly
Father knows your needs. He will always
give you all you need from day to day …
For it gives
your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.”
~ Luke 12:30-32
(TLB)
Joyfully Serving Christ . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
