Paths of Freedom

Freedom. It’s a word that I am growing accustomed to considering. Freedom from what and to what? I adore the verse of Scripture that says that ways of the Lord are wide freedom: “and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts” (Psalm 119:45). We are saved from what we want to do—saved to do what we were meant to do. There is freedom for our days held up in this mighty verse.

What are the pressures of the world, but of accomplishment, achievement, status, and position? The Lord is setting me free from those. These idols that I place in my heart like they are displayed on the shelves of my person. But what if achievement is stripped away? What if abilities change, or giftings shift? What if we’re meant to start back at the beginning of the course and find a new way forward?

I think that God wants us to be free unto his ways—and invariably I find that his ways are all about the heart, the mind, and the will. Specifically, they are about the character that we produce. Who am I? And, how will I react when my desires for achievement are not God’s will for me? 

Do you know what I have found? Surely you will not be surprised by my word: freedom. My mind has been conditioned to see only certain paths available to me: work and schooling have been paths to success. But when I look outside of those bounds, new paths become available to my thinking. I have the freedom to enjoy. I don’t know how many times the Lord has said to my spirit in recent days: enjoy your life.

And so, I am reorienting my thinking according to what brings me joy and enjoyment. What brings satisfaction and rest? What brings health and healing? What brings hope and peace? I have slowed my days, reoriented my purposes, and shifted my thinking. For me, writing here brings me peace and joy. Reading and studying bring me enjoyment. Having a deep life of prayer—something I have sorely neglected in past years—brings me healing and satisfaction.

If I were to prioritize accomplishment, I would not invest my time in a little blog, set my heart to studying that is not aimed at any kind of career, or pursue a life of prayer. But God’s ways are different and higher. They are helping me relax and rest. I reach and stretch for what I can link myself to that will bring peace and accomplishment. But as I do, I am brought back here: the simple written word where honesty of spirit meets the page. And, I am brought back to the joy of studies. And, I am pulled into a life of contemplation and prayer.

Freedom has come with the slowness of my days. Freedom has come when I pursue what I love to do, despite the outcome. Freedom has come as I set my spirit toward the presence of God to flow with him, as he moves, and become closer in my heart to his ways.

I am not where I once thought or imagined I would be. I have no position, rank, or career—I don’t possess achievements of note. There is no reason to particularly regard me. But, I am encouraged by the words of Jesus, the beautiful words of Jesus:

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. (Matthew 11:25-26)

Jesus paused and took these holy, designated moments of prayer to the Father—ensuring they were recorded in Scripture—to offer thanks that those who are like children have been taught of God. Children were of no earthly regard, not yet being able to work in the fields or help with the dynamics of home life; they did not have rights. But to such as these—not to the highly regarded, accomplished and well-stationed—God first revealed his ways.

And to this little child, to me, coming to him for milk, Jesus is revealing the ways of his freedom. He doesn’t see as the world sees. It doesn’t matter to him if the world regards me, or if I have accomplished laudable acts or career advances. I am convinced that Jesus has deliberately set these aside for me in favor of a simple life—a simple life of freedom.

Were God to bring achievements into my life, may I never be like the wise and understanding, but remain a little child. And, may I never lose the simplicity of life that I have gained here with the freedom to breathe in each moment and exhale the days.

I am learning not to grip particular paths of life anymore—the ones that I once imagined. I have loosened myself from them—for what I gripped had gained its own hold on me. But God has wrested me from the hold of these and set me into a new reality. I am still growing accustomed to it, but I am telling Jesus in prayer that I will learn the ways, the paths, the patterns, and the sense of this new life as he leads me on.