So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:38
I decided to give it a try. I took the dress out of the plastic bag to see if it would still fit after so many years. As soon as I had it over my head and on my arms, I knew I was in trouble. I could not get the darn thing off. I squirmed to the left, to the right, up, and down. I kept pulling from every direction possible. There was no one to help me. I was truly stuck, and my arms were starting to hurt under the blood-pressure-like cuffs. I was held captive by a hot-pink satin dress.
I know it sounds funny, and I imagined God looking down on me and having a good belly laugh. Sometimes we do get stuck in life. The insurmountable bills only became worse by the emergency medical bill. Our child is failing a class and acting up in school. The boss just brutally attacked us verbally in front of all our co-workers. Our stacking problems are like precariously placed blocks ready to topple, one on top of another until we are stuck in the muck, so to say. One wrong move and everything will collapse.
Well, we are not hopeless. God is watching, and He sees us squirming. He patiently waits for us to call His name for help. He wants us to realize we are useless when we rely on our power alone. However, in the power of Christ, we have hope, peace, assurance, and clear-mindedness, even amid the muck.
My dancing a get-out-of-jail jig to get out of my dress was not working, and I started to panic. When in my conundrum of captivity, and pain, I actually stopped, took a deep breath, and prayed. There was no physical person who could help me, but I was not alone. God heard my plea and enabled me to pull on just the right spot that released me from the jaws of the dress. I praised His name as I gained freedom.
What problem has you stuck in the jaws of despair? Call on the Lord today? Don’t delay. He will release you from the chains that bind you.
One last thought--if Christ has set you free, stay that way. Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” I learned my lesson; I won’t try on that dress again. It’s going to charity.
Thank you, Christ Jesus, for setting us free. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment