Disease

His Name is Freedom


Standing under the canopy of blue skies and billowy clouds, I sense the vast space afforded me by our Creator God. Descriptive words—airy, expansive, immense, open, unconfined—achieve their purpose, and still the opportunity to experience such a spacious place fills me with indescribable delight. Breathing room. Elbow room. FREEDOM! 

Quite the opposite of an open space, the confines of four walls hem in. Breathing room diminishes to a corner. Tentacles of anxiety surround and suffocate. Worry plagues the mind. Angst sets in. And fear claims another captive.

The years of Covid–yes, we are nearing the close of a second year—have been anything but free. Sickness, confusion, and gloom have shrouded the world in darkness. Various forms of confinement have been forced upon us. Disease and death seem to have become the norm. Because of the polarization of the facts about the virus and its cure, people are more estranged than ever. Fear waxes while freedom wanes. 

Our generation is not the first to have experienced a plague. We’re not even the first people to be ruled by authoritarian leaders. From the beginning of time, every generation has faced trials and tribulations. The Israelites, known as God’s people in the Old Testament, encountered all types of ordeals. Just as they were increasing in number and thriving in Egypt, a new king, who knew nothing about their patriarch Joseph, came to power. The massive population of Israelites threatened this new authority figure. So he began to oppress them with forced labor. 

Subjugation, ill-treatment, persecution, tyrannical rule—the Israelites groaned in their slavery for hundreds of years. They cried out to God for help and eventually He sent them a deliverer named Moses. Through many miraculous acts of God, Moses was able to free the Israelites from Pharaoh’s rule. They walked on dry land between walls of water that had formed the Red Sea. As their captors chased them, the Israelites watched the walled water splash down around their enemies and drown them. The Lord had saved them. They celebrated freedom with songs of victory.

But freedom didn’t last. For generations, the Israelites lived in cycles of bondage and deliverance. When they faced adversity, the Israelites looked to God to send a deliverer. They longed for a messiah to rescue them. When the Messiah finally came to earth, many of God’s people overlooked him because they were seeking a military leader. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, entered the earth as a babe. God sent Jesus, His Son, to be the Savior of the world, to bring salvation to all who would believe in Him. 

At 30 years of age, He began His ministry with a proclamation. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19

And He went about completing His mission, preaching good news to the disenfranchised, giving sight to the blind, freeing people from oppression and captivity. All this was done under the religious eyes of the Jews and the tyrannical rule of Rome. Because these groups enjoyed power, they despised the freedom Jesus was spreading among the common folk. The authorities sought to quiet Him through physical death. Even though these authorities achieved that goal, it wouldn’t have happened if Jesus hadn’t willingly given His life to save humanity. After all, He was and still is God, and He came to earth as the final sacrifice for sinfulness. He offered His life to deliver us from the bonds of sin and death. His resurrection from death made a way for all who believe in Him to live eternally with Him and enjoy abundant life while on earth. 

Once the Holy Spirit had empowered the believers and followers of Christ Jesus, they discovered it didn’t matter what the authorities did to the body. Holy Spirit power through belief in Jesus had freed their spirits. He had rescued them from the fear of human power. Maybe their bodies were in chains, but their minds and souls enjoyed freedom by trusting in Him. 

Throughout the years and around the world, many people have suffered the pangs of captivity. The burdens of mental, physical, and spiritual restrictions have weighed heavily on the hearts, minds, and souls of humans, and it continues to this day. The confines of four walls, chains of captivity, oppression and affliction hem in people, suffocating them. 

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.
— C. S. Lewis

No matter the persecution we may endure, our spirits can be unshackled through the power of Jesus. A heart’s desire is freedom and a wide open space offers breathing room, but true freedom only comes through belief in the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. He saves and delivers, extending peace and strength. When you believe and trust in God through Jesus, even if physically confined, nothing can exploit your spirit. If Jesus has set you free, you are free indeed.  

 
So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 
— John 8:36 (NLT)

You are My Hiding Place

Clouds enveloped the tall lit cross rising skyward alongside the hills. The overcast heavens seem to drape the earth with gloom. Even though another cloudy gray day loomed with despair, the noble symbol of Christ’s passion manifested a safe harbor for my soul. 

As I sat and gazed off in the distance at the cross, all the events of the past month came to mind. Sadness threatened to overwhelm me. I recalled sitting face to face with an anxious mother whose daughter had chosen to remain with a controlling boyfriend. The young woman was in danger and the mother had wanted to rescue her. Helplessly shedding tears together, we clung to the hope of Jesus Christ, our refuge.

Two weeks later, I got news of the death of a family member, my dad’s brother, a beloved uncle. With broken hearts, my sisters and I traveled eight hours to offer love and support to his wife and children and their families. We understood their pain, having lost both of our parents. Together we all grieved his passing from us, but celebrated his eternal life with Jesus. His earthly example of a true Christ follower emboldened us all to seek shelter through Jesus. 

The eight hour return trip home coupled with sorrow caused fatigue in my body, giving way to the pains of degenerative discs and sciatica. The numbing pain throughout my back, hip, left leg and foot threatened to remove my focus from God. I cried out to Him for help and I know He heard my pleas. “You’re my sanctuary, Lord God, help me with this pain,” I said. 

In my distress.jpg

And then there is this coronavirus that the entire world is reeling from. The uncertainty of it all is wreaking havoc on our daily lives. But strength and calm can be found through belief in Jesus Christ. He is near to those who call on Him.

One of the greatest kings of all time, King David, experienced profuse hardships. Whether running for his life from men who desired to kill him or suffering heartache from the death of his baby conceived in sin, David understood fear and pain. And yet he acknowledged the power of Almighty God. David’s words of anguish as well as praise poured from his heart to God’s heart in psalms and spiritual songs. Because they ring true in everyday life, readers across the centuries have been able to speak David’s words back to God and find solace. 

Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance. 
Psalm 32:6-7 (NIV)

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.  Psalm 17:8 (NIV)

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.  Psalm 27:5 (NIV)

Oh the conviction and comfort expressed in those passages. David trusted in the Lord, even in the midst of bleak circumstances. He recognized the perfect power of the Lord God Almighty. He offered his moments of doubt to the One he trusted. He hid in the shelter of his Protector and Provider. And God delivered his soul from the angst that surrounded him, filling him with peace. 

When we trust God in the middle of our situations, He envelops us with His shelter of calm. The mother I sat with trusted God through her tears. She believed God to be in control and gained strength from God’s promises. The trust in God exhibited by my grieving family fortified all those who came to support them. We lifted up poignant praise to the One who strengthened us all. While continuing to suffer pain in my body, I am gaining strength from the promises of God. He is my hiding place. And this corona thing—we just must trust! Trust in God to surround us with songs of deliverance.

Right now I am gazing off in the distance, finding no cross. It is hidden from my sight. But I know it’s there, just as I know my Savior Jesus Christ infuses His strength into my soul. I will not fear though the earth give way. Instead I will trust God to deliver me. When troubles come my way, I declare Him to be my hiding place. 

Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you.
Psalm 143:9