Thai Time...Day 3

Today was all about FREEDOM! I read something yesterday in Psalm 142 that I really just meditated on today. "Set me free from my prison, that I may praise Your name."

I woke up and the Lord reminded me of that bit from yesterday. The Lord sets us free from our prison so that we may praise Him. I wasn't sure why I had that on my heart all day until a little bit before service tonight and after.

I have been meeting with a lady at the church to just talk through grief and different things going on in my life and she is great because she will tell me how it is. While we were talking, she pointed out to me that I work myself up for no reason a lot of the time. I work myself up about a false reality that I choose to make real in my thought process, so her challenge for me was to work on objectively looking at situations...

I don't know why, but I felt really uneasy as I headed down to service and during worship, I found myself hysterical in the back of the room with floods of guilt, shame and regret about some recent situations in my life rushing over me. It just so happened that the topic of the message was REPENTANCE! Funny...

Repent, meaning to turn away from whatever it is that is holding you back. As he was speaking, I could feel the Lord stirring up some "little" things in me, just attitudes or thoughts or feelings, etc., that it was time for me to turn away from, but it's never easy to abandon things that you don't even notice you do because you do them so often.

After church, I went for a drive with Jesus. I am a driver. I drive when I just need to "work it out". As I talked with the Lord this concept of freedom was at the forefront of my mind and my heart...It kind of made sense. As I worshiped and talked with the Lord, I kept apologizing, over and over. I felt like the Lord almost stopped me finally and was just like..."Hey, you only have to tell me once! It's done!"

There is such freedom in those few words...IT'S DONE! It's finished, it is no longer important, it's no longer an issue. Walk in FREEDOM.

The Lord sets prisoners free. He breaks chains that bind. He delights in and loves the righteous. Be humble, admit you made a mistake and then let the Lord pick you up and walk. I told God what I did, what I was ashamed of, mistakes made, bad decisions made...I told Him and in replace of my anxiety and brokenness, He gave amazing peace and joy. He freely gives those things. All He requires in openness. He wants us to be real with Him. I couldn't narrow it down to one or two things...so I took an hour and drove around confessing and repenting before the Lord. Goodness knows there are still plenty of things for me to turn away from, but you have to start somewhere.

These are a few verses that really stuck out to me when I was reading and praying about freedom. I found these verses incredibly encouraging, some as a reminder that no matter what the prison is...God can open the doors and set us free. It could be an addiction or an attitude or sickness or grief...other's as a reminder that we are continuously a work in progress, which isn't a bad thing. Progress is good, no matter how slow or fast...and finally, because God freely pardons. God gives because He wants to. He gives mercy because He wants to. He sets us free because He wants to be near us. What could be more encouraging than that? As wretched and sinful as I am, God sets me free. He freely gives mercy and He freely pardons.

"The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous."
- Psalm 146: 7b-8

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lords glory, are being transformed into His likeness with every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
- 2 Corinthians 3: 17-18

"Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
- Isaiah 55: 7


I won't be posting for the next couple days...I will be at Lake Mead for college camp. Please keep us in your prayers. I'll have more Thai Time blurbs coming your way Monday!

Love you all!