Psalm 118:5 “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.” I’ve spent four out of the last five weeks in quarantine, and was very blessed to the see the light of day today. So I felt God leading me to meditate on freedom and what that means in the context of my faith. The Psalmist in today’s verse proclaims that the Lord set him free as translated in the English Standard Version. But the original Hebrew translation is closer to “brought me into a merhab” or “wide, roomy, open space.” I guess it’s natural as I go from a confined space to more open space, I feel a sense of freedom. But then I’m reminded of a missionary friend who was imprisoned and tortured in North Korea. In the midst of what seemed like his demise (he was given the death penalty at one point), he sang hymns of praise and showed Christ-like love to his prison guards. He did not let the close quarters confine him, because his freedom came from the Lord. By the time I came to visit this friend, he had set up a school that had educated thousands of North Korean students. At a dinner banquet we sang Amazing Grace together with North Korean communist party members. Freedom doesn’t come from circumstances. True freedom comes from God’s love and a transformed heart. And as I head back into worldly freedom today, I feel reminded to focus on what really matters. Lord, thank you for speaking. Thank you for a very blessed trip, and thank you for a blessed return. I want to keep my eyes upon you and you alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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