Psalm 23: 2
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all leading us to quiet green pastures where there is plenty of food and cool, clear water. All things are good where they lead us. There is always plenty. Just follow your shepherd.
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all leading us to quiet green pastures where there is plenty of food and cool, clear water. All things are good where they lead us. There is always plenty. Just follow your shepherd.
Seek God! Honestly search Him out! Chase Him with all your heart. When you have done that, He will make all things alright. You will find that He will teach you how valued you are in His sight. He will give you the acceptance that you so crave. Once you know in your heart of hearts that the Lord, our God, loves you just as you are, you can finally love yourself honestly and accept yourself just as He does. You are his precious no matter what anyone else says. And he loves you dearly. That is a promise.
How blessed indeed! Do you know how little there is for you to worry about once your trust is in the Lord. It is a great and wonderful blessing not to have to worry about every single thing in our lives. The more we are able to turn over to the Lord of Hosts, the less there is for us to worry over. You don’t have to take stress management classes anymore. You are just less stressed. The Lord, our God, is carrying all of that stress for you. Each thing that you do not want to carry any longer, turn over to Him. It may take a bit of practice and perhaps this is one of those things about which we must be constantly vigilante but it sure is worth every bit of effort.
Here is one little trick that I use. I imagine one of those “IN” boxes that everyone used to have on their desks. This one belongs to God. Walk up to it and put into it the matter that is taking up so much of your thought life. If a matter is important enough to you to cause you concern, then it is important enough for you to give to God. He cares about everything you care about, even the small things. I have noticed that it is impossible to fill up His “IN” box. He always has room for more.
Personal freedom, the liberty of our souls, is what Jesus was talking about in this verse. The people who responded to him kept thinking in terms of physical liberty. Remember, this is a people who were living with Roman occupation. Certainly their way of life was constrained by a political power but they considered themselves free. They said, “We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone” (v. 33). Jesus was talking about being enslaved to someone. He wasn’t talking about physical liberty. He answered them saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (v. 34). Jesus knows that our sin is prison from which we do not have the strength to free ourselves. Perhaps we can gain for ourselves partial freedom but not only is it incomplete, it is usually temporary as well. When Jesus sets us free, though, we are free indeed.
Like these men in the eighth chapter of John, most of us believe we are not slaves to anything or anyone, but I wonder. How many habits, social mores, customs, thoughts and old injuries are we actually imprisoned by? What would life truly look like if there were not imprisoning restraints? True freedom requires surrender. Isn’t that ironic? If we will give over our power and our control to Jesus and infuse it with trust then he can set us free and then we will be free indeed.