Freedom. F.R.E.E.D.O.M. I’ve lived my life in pursuit of it. I’ve spent most of my ministry testifying of it. Yet, the older I get and the more of it I am gifted, the harder it is to find words to do it justice. It is such a tricky thing to explain, express, or extend. How do you paint a picture of the love you have for your child? How do you find words to describe the pride that overtakes your heart when they overcome? How do you put a finger on the depths of what unites a man and women in covenant? How do you define peace to someone that has never heard the word? How do you compare the difference in happiness and joy? There really is no human way to do these things. There simply aren’t words…aren’t adequate pictures. They go down deep into our marrow…into the fabric of life. They supersede explanation.
This is my battle today. I have no words to explain what Jesus has done in my life over the 30 plus years that I have loved Him. I cannot put a picture to this joy. I cannot find words to describe my peace. I cannot begin to explain this freedom. Life has been a far cry from easy. My journey with Him has been uphill and arduous. I started off a mess, but I have since shed depression, fear, insecurity, and mistrust. The Holy Spirit has led me day after day to do the hard things, but the climb and the hard things have made me better…free-er.
I was sitting in my school room this morning pondering how quickly the years have gone by on this season. I homeschooled in this room for over 10 years. I remember the sleepy mornings, the pjs, the sippy cups, the devotions, the Language, the Arithmetic, the cartons, the walks, the lunches. My heart swells inside of me. I cannot describe that feeling. The Holy Spirit tapped my heart and reminded me that He feels the same about me. Just as I know that those years were not always easy for my girls. The lessons were tedious, the tests were challenging, the sitting was often difficult. I’m so proud of them, but maybe even more so I’m thankful that we did it together. I’m proud of the obstacles they overcame. I’m proud of the moments they pushed themselves. I’m proud of who they’ve become. And I’m proud of the relationship we have because we endured together. My heart swells even bigger with the thought that the Holy Spirit feels the same about my journey. That is indescribable.
I am free. That is the summary of my testimony. Love has set me free. Sickness can take my voice. Disease can take my eyes. Recession can take my money. Difficulty can take my dreams. Time can take my youth. But nothing can take my freedom. The world didn’t give it to me and nothing in the world can take it away.
My greatest desire for my ministry is that I could share this message with enough conviction and anointing that blind eyes would be open to the truth. I would that everyone persevered to apprehend such liberty. But describing the chasm between chains and freedom is like speaking an unknown language to a toddler. My prayer is to introduce you to the language of freedom today. My prayer is to give the unbeliever enough vocabulary to make them realize they not only want it but they need it. My prayer is that even the believer would believe for more of it…persevere for more of it…climb for more of it.
The effort is worth the price. Freedom is worth the pursuit. And whom the Son sets free is free indeed!