John 8:31-32 “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Two weeks ago I shared John 8:32, the second part of the verse above. Below, is this same truth in a slightly different light...
In this life we will never experience freedom from sin or evil, sickness or pain. We live in a fallen world. However, we all know or know of people held captive by their past mistakes, and in my case, moms who are trapped by their child’s illness. As a mom, I see this as an easy place to find yourself, especially when so much of your life revolves around the needs of your child: when you can eat, how much you can sleep, if you can be away from the house, how many medicines and supplies you have to pack if you do leave, where you can vacation - if you can vacation at all, if you can ever leave your child in someone else’s care for much needed downtime, etc.
Sometimes these constraints lead some to feel trapped; that God has not been fair to them...if God exists at all. Acknowledging that emotionally we all have our good days and our bad days, it is still possible to be set free from these worldly constraints if you know and trust in God’s truth. Your life may not be easy, but your hardship doesn’t have to control you. His freedom allows for that peace that lets you find his blessings in the midst of your pain.
We have control over little in our world, but we do have full control over how we think and how we live. One of God's greatest gifts to us is the freedom to choose. If we have the Holy Spirit is living in us, we are free to live. To be set free is to decide to trust God. Corrie ten Boom, a Holocaust survivor, found this peace in the midst of complete devastation and despair and left these valuable words of wisdom. Her ability to have her attitude in spite of all of her suffering and the suffering around her inspires me to pursue a path reliant on God's truth so that I can walk through this life in His strength, peace, and freedom.
* "It is not my ability, but my response to God’s ability, that counts." Corrie ten Boom
** "Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings...It's something we make inside ourselves." Corrie ten Boom
*** "You can never learn that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have." Corrie ten Boom