Thursday, July 19, 2012

Freedom for the journey...


I remember when I was a kid, summer was the best time! There was no school and our days were filled with outside adventures, friends, and fun. We might go to summer camp or look forward to Vacation Bible School and the annual church picnic. In most cases, even if you had a rough upbringing, summer still offered a break from all that came with the school year. It was a carefree time, wasn’t it?! Today, I want everyone to think about that feeling. It was relaxing and fun and healing from a long year. It was freedom! I believe God wants us to enjoy our lives like that today.

Too often, we let the cares of this world and the business of life drain us of that joyful freedom we naturally had as children.  It’s time to take it back and walk in it! And there’s only one source for that freedom – the Lord. God wants us to be free but a lot of times, we walk around struggling in bondage when all we have to do is ask for it! Psalm 118:5 says “In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.” Is anybody tired of being tired? Aren’t you ready to wake up in the morning with a joy in your spirit and a smile on your face? Ask God to set you free and He will do it!

A couple of months ago, I got so overwhelmed with life. I was tired, frustrated and a little bitter about some of the curveballs that life had thrown at me. Some of it was the devil and some of it was of my own causing. You may remember because my blog entries were a little rough during that period. (Sorry!) But I went away by myself – no children, no husband, no friends and I got in God’s face. I didn’t want to come back the same! I wanted my joy back. But it was my responsibility to meet God and acknowledge where I got off track so I could get it together. That’s why I love Psalm 51. It speaks to facing yourself and your issues.  It was written by David after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba but you can easily insert your issue whether it’s lack of obedience, a bad attitude, selfishness or whatever.  “Oh give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me…Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”  (Psalm 51: 7-10, 12 NLT)

Sometimes circumstances and experiences have accumulated and taken our joy and freedom but a lot of times, we have given it away. I encourage you today to lay all of your burdens and weights down and ask God to set you free again. Don’t allow all the lists and responsibilities you have to overwhelm you to the point that you lose your joy. This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! You are alive where many others are not. Even more, you serve a God that is willing and able to restore you! Imagine those that don’t know Him! Don’t allow anything to keep you from that. Get in God’s presence and you will find fullness of joy. You will find rest and refreshing! You will find freedom.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. AMEN (Jude 1:24-25, NKJV)

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