Seeking Freedom

The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions
The Giver
CREATOR, UPHOLDER AND PROPRIETOR OF ALL THINGS,
We cannot escape from thy presence and control,
nor do we desire to do so.
Our privilege is to be under the agency of thy omnipotence,
righteousness, wisdom, patience, mercy and grace;
For thou art Love with more than parental affection.
We admire thy goodness,
stand in awe of thy power,
abase ourselves before thy purity.
It is the discovery of thy goodness alone that
can banish our fear
allure us into thy presence,
help us to bewail and confess our sins.
We review our past guilt
and are conscious of present unworthiness.
We bless thee that thy steadfast love and attributes
are essential to our happiness and hope;
Thou hast witnessed to us thy grace and mercy
in the bounties of nature,
in the fullness of thy providence,
in the revelations of Scripture,
in the gift of thy Son,
in the proclamation of the gospel.
Make us willing to be saved in thy own way,
perceiving nothing in ourselves but all in Jesus.
Help us not only to receive him but
to walk in him,
depend upon him,
commune with him,
follow him as dear children,
imperfect, but still pressing forward,
not complaining of labour, but valuing rest,
not murmuring under trials, but thankful for our state.
And by so doing let us silence the ignorance of foolish men.

As I have been reflecting on who I am recently during our Spiritual Gifts Project, I have found that I am a person bound by fear. Fear of failure. Fear of people. Fear of not being in control. Fear of things not turning out how I envision. Fear of doing something wrong. Fear of correction or rebuke. Before I couldn't see that fear was at the root of my anxious living and joylessness and lack of childlike freedom. But now that I see, I want so much to be free from this fear. I trust that the Lord has come to make me a new creation (2Corin. 5:17)and to release me from the yoke of slavery (Gal 5:1) (I am enslaved to fear, the sin of not trusting in the goodness of the LORD). Lord teach me to trust you. Teach me to remember and acknowledge your goodness. Transform me and make me free, so when people look and see that I am different your name would be glorified.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:17)"

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2Time 1:7)"