Set Free

“I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” (Ps 119:32)

We are a broken people, many of us healing from life’s sorrows.  When we become born-again, our heart grasps the promises of freedom found in Christ. The more we abide in Him, the freer our heart becomes.  Indeed, this is Christ’s ministry.

“ . . . He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (Is 61:1)

The healing Christ offers to us comes wrapped in a fresh remembrance of our pain, for our memories are stored with our emotions in our brain.  It is not always easy to enter into the healing God has for us when it means that we have our suffering to deal with anew.  Because the darkness seems like a shield protecting from past hurts, many lack healing in their hearts.

“If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love.” (Jn 15:10)

It is not possible to abide in Christ, nor to keep His commandments if our hearts are not set free.  When in bondage, we will find ourselves less giving, less loving, more reserved, until the light in our hearts goes out, leaving us cold and dark inside.  The Psalmist found that he could abide in God’s love and keep His commands because his heart had been set free.  It is in being set free that our heart turns towards God’s ways. 

Is being set free in our hearts . . . free from the past hurts that bind us . . . an easy thing? No.  But it is a specialty entrusted to Christ, and a ministry He longs over with each one of us.  Not only is it good to experience lasting freedom in Christ, but all our successes in the Kingdom are tied to it.  We can expect our Lord to help us deal with painful memories, establish us in spiritual, mental, and emotional health, and to bring us from glory to glory as we follow His ways.  Today, let us trust in Jesus, Who loves us like no other and Who intends for us to live in His love.  Amen.