My own prison and freedom from it...

Wow I am a posting fool tonight :-). In church this morning during worship I couldn't help but tear up and cry during the song "My Savior My God" by Aaron Shunst.



I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior
I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me; this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior

The lyrics rang truth into my heart, truth that I had chosen to forget. God has always been my God, always been faithful and always WILL be. I myself chose to live in worry, doubt, anxiety and at times enslaving myself in the circumstances around me. I was so busy looking at myself, my troubles and around ME, ( See the theme here? ME, ME, ME??) that I lost sight of what is important, WHO is important. I forgot to look up. There is so much that I don't know, so many unknowns, but the thing is, it's always been that way. No one knows the future, what will happen or how it will unfold. No one but God. Nor do we know the deep mysteries of God and HIS perfect love and will for us. I was so focused on what I didn't know that I lost sight of what I DO know. God is faithful, He always has been. He has proven Himself over and over to me. By His grace he as shown Himself to me and proven Himself to me. He is under no obligation to do so, but because of His love he CHOOSES to do so. Yes sometimes He shows himself though big events and miracles, but more importantly He is a God of detail and the in small details in our lives He shines through. Had the lift gate on our truck not been shattered right before we left for the the airport to Seattle we would have had to pay a nice chunk of money for parking at the airport. Money we really didn't have to spare. Had we not missed our flight that morning we would have had to leave our car in an unattended parking lot taped up with a garbage bag, instead by the grace of God we were able to call the dealership and drop it off. We had free parking, in a secure place protected from the elements. All those things happened and we can look back and see God's hand in our lives and thank Him, or we can chose to be bitter and shake our fist at Him.
Instead of looking up and having and eternal perspective this week I was so busy looking around me trying to figure things out and organize things MY way. I wanted things to fall into place according to my feeble ways. How quickly I forget that my ways are not always, well let's face it they are rarely what is truly good for me, what is wise for me and for others around me. I put myself in my own little prison of fear of the unknown and just being overwhelmed by all I felt needed to be done, when in fact God wanted/WANTS me to live in freedom. The freedom of salvation, of HIS grace, HIS mercy and HIS love. Freedom in knowing the truth of Romans 8:28, that ALL things work for good for them that love God and are called according to HIS purpose. (Yes I know I totally paraphrased that but look it up, it's there, it's a promise.) Knowing Philippians 1, that God has begun a good work and He WILL complete it. I am not finished growing. I haven't even begun to learn all that He desires for me to learn or experience all that He has in store for me. Jeremiah 29:11, the thoughts He thinks towards me, the plans He has are for good and not for evil to give me a future and a hope.
I need to remember to keep an eternal perspective and not focus so much on the unknown but focus on what I do know, on WHO I know. God and HIS promises are never failing. He loves me, He loves US with an everlasting love. I refuse to live in bondage and fear.
What's up with the Shackles video up top? Well it happens to be my ring tone on my phone and has been for a couple of months, it's there to remind me that regardless of the situations I am in I am free and God is in control. I need to remember that and praise Him for that. I have a hope, that hope is Christ. No matter what is going on in our lives we have a Savior, we have a living breathing, true God. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.- Romans something or other :-), Google it.
THERE IS FREEDOM. Embrace it.