November 7 – Vav - Psalm 119:41-48

November 7 – Vav - Psalm 119:41-48

Let thy steadfast love come to me, O LORD, thy salvation according to thy promise;
then shall I have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in thy word.
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in thy ordinances.
I will keep thy law continually, for ever and ever;
and I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought thy precepts.
I will also speak of thy testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to shame;
for I find my delight in thy commandments, which I love.
I revere thy commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on thy statutes.

We talk and think about freedom a lot today … what has been done to gain us freedom from oppression and freedom to live the way we wish to live.  We observe other countries with far less freedom from their governments and express gratitude for the opportunity to live in the United States, where many freedoms are a given.  For the most part, we are quite aware and quite grateful for this opportunity.

There are other freedoms, though.  Things we miss out on because we tie ourselves up in knots.  Things that people around us miss out on because we are so self-centered and sometimes, so self-righteous.

The freedom to express love. Think about someone you spend a great deal of time with, outside of your family.  A co-worker or a friend, even a friend you know online.  Do you express your love for that person or do you make it easy and appropriate for them to express love to you?  Now, don’t tell me that you find many ways to express love.  I’m talking about the words that let others know without a doubt they are loved.  We don’t do this often enough, for many reasons.

The freedom to be exuberantly joyous.  The freedom to speak about God’s love. The freedom to ask questions about beliefs without fear of judgment.  The freedom to think differently … out loud.  Are your friends comfortable enough around you to really speak of the differences they have regarding issues … all of your friends, not just the ones who enjoy confrontational conversations. Or do you vocalize your beliefs so stridently, that they are quiet because they fear your derisive speech?

The freedom to cry and weep from either pain or joy.  I know some of my friends are very comfortable with this.  I seem to have no control over my tears, I blame it on my age.  But, I know many who can’t express deep emotions.

The freedom to speak truth … in love.  True love.  Not judgmental ‘love.’  These things are all messed up today and we don’t know what it is we are doing, so we just speak what we believe to be truth and hurt whoever might be in the way, because we’re doing it in love.

The freedom to really be whom God has called us to be.  To be fully His, to live a life that fulfills His desires for us, rather than living a life that forces us to pay bills and take care of everyone else.  We get so wrapped up in the details of our lives, that we forget these lives are not our own, we are here because God gave us life and wants to give us eternal life.  These decades on earth in between those two events shouldn't be separated from Him.

It is in seeking the Lord continually that we will find peace and freedom in our lives.  We have been given such grace in living in a country that allows us to exist without daily fear of war from outside enemies. Let us live out that grace by untying ourselves from the strictures placed on us and find freedom within ourselves so that we might bring a message of hope to the world.