Freedom In Worship

Today on my Facebook page, I clicked on the “Message From God” app and this is what it said:

“On this day of your life, Pam, we believe God wants you to know ... that there are many ways to climb a mountain.  There are many ways to worship God. There are many ways to live a life. Allow each person to choose their own path.”

This is what inspired this post.  Hopefully, God can speak to you through the words He put on my heart today.

 

Freedom applies to many areas of our lives.  As a follower of Christ I have just begun to taste that freedom in so many ways and the place I feel we should have the most freedom is within the building where we meet with our brothers and sisters in Christ; at “church”. For most of my life I have felt I wasn’t at all free there. Until recently I’ve gone to churches where the general attitude was you stood when asked by the music minister and you sang, (but not too loud, unless you were in the “choir”) and then you sat down again.  Ok, I’m good with the beginning and end because there needs to be some order, but the middle of that has always troubled me.  You see, according to the Myers-Briggs instrument, I prefer ENFP which means that my personality leans “Extrovert, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving.  In other words, I’m an “Otter”.  So, when I am giving praise and worshiping God it’s not going to look like my husband’s style, which is my complete opposite, and probably not yours either.  But I have a secret……it’s totally fine! We are all fearfully and wonderfully made by God but we were also made differently! So we aren’t supposed to all do the same thing (that would be too cultish).  We have our God-given free will and our very own personalities and God loves each and every one of us and each and every type of praise and worship as long as we are giving it to HIM!  You see, my worship and praise isn’t for you so you don’t have to worry about it! 

To those churches and people who give disapproving looks, make comments or make disapproving noises when I raise my hands to my Lord, sway back and forth or maybe even, dare I say “dance” during a song I now say, “I AM FREE to do this and I will not judge you or condemn you for your worship style!” Brothers and Sisters in Christ, let’s agree that our Creator made us differently and we should all express our love, praise and worship for him in the way HE fashioned us, not the way we fallible human beings decide we should!  Don’t hear what I am not saying (as my son tells me), if your style is to quietly sing, meditate and just be still; Praise God, I won’t think anything of it or judge you for it.

While I was in those churches growing up and until recently, I felt Satan pinning my hands to my sides and completely distracting me from being able to praise, worship or even concentrate on God.  That, my dear ones is not any kind of freedom in Christ!  For me, it is just like being chained, bound and gagged while someone is screaming in my ear some awful noise!  But I’m not chained, bound, or gagged any longer and when Satan tries screaming in my ear I say, “You have no control over me any longer, in the name of Jesus Christ you must leave!”  And then I continue to praise and worship God the way he made me, the ENFP the Otter, because I AM SET FREE!

Come, let’s shout praises to God, raise the roof for the Rock who saved us!

Let’s march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns!

Psalm 95:1 (MSG)

Ecclesiastes says, “There’s a time for everything on earth….There is a time to cry. And there’s a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad. And there’s a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3)

Freedom from Dungeons

Hi, my name is Pam and I'm really wondering why in the world I should be writing.  I'm not even great in English much less writing something like this!  Maybe no one will read it, maybe the person(s) who need to will.  I don't know but God just kept pushing so here it goes!

FREEDOM FROM DUNGEONS 

I have lived in the great United States of America most of my life and as an American citizen I thought I understood the cost, knew the taste of and knew what it really means to be free.  Well, I may have been a free citizen in this country and even had asked Jesus to my savior at 8 years old, but I was definitely NOT free until recently.  You see, for more than 20 years I was trapped in a life that felt like a dungeon with just a tiny bit of light in it because of the pain of migraine headaches every day, fibromyalgia, chronic urinary tract and kidney problems, TMJ pain, cervicalgia in my neck and 2 compressed disks in my low back.  I was mess! Whether you know me, of me or just read this one blog I want you to you know that God has set me free from Satan’s clutches on my life with chronic and widespread physical pain and the trust/faith I had in medication to help me “live” and He will heal you too!

During that entire 20 years I never realized that when all my friends, family and even those who didn’t know me were lifting me up to God asking for healing, I had to put every pain down at God’s feet, leave it there and my faith must turn from in doctors and medication to Jehovah Rophe’ (my God who heals). Don’t get me wrong, I knew that God is the great physician and even in the midst of the worst pain the Holy Spirit can interpret our cries and groans if that is all we can do, however, knowing with head smarts is very different than putting all my faith and trust into The Mighty Healer! I actually thought I had done this many times, but I really hadn’t because I kept reaching for those meds, trusting them, worrying about whether I’d have enough until the next month and worrying about whether the pharmacy would have the meds when I got my prescription at the end  of the month. Do you want to know the most ironic part?  The person I trusted to take care of my pain more than God was my doctor who is agnostic who believes in nothing! Now, that is absurd, sad and would be funny (because it is so dumb) except it kept me in that dungeon.

As I cried out to God this time he was finally able to show me that if I wanted out of this horrible pain that had me in its grip, I had to let go of my grip on it.  I had to let go so I could reach up with both hands to God as far as I could; then He would reach down and pull me up the rest of the way right onto his lap until I was healed and ready to start again everyday with His help.

Satan’s hold was broken because God doesn't want me, one of his precious children, to suffer. What he wants is for me to look to him for every breath and for my freedom from things like pain, sadness, anxiety, despair, and bad self-esteem and if you are his child dealing with any of that or any other things, He doesn't want that for you either. He wants to free you from being lonely or grieving for your beloved child, family member or spouse that has died keeping you from really living. He doesn’t want you needing your spouse or best friend to make you happy or make you feel secure because at some point all humans fail and you will get hurt, or living in a miserable way just trying to make the best of it while barely surviving; being addicted to pornography, alcohol, or any type of drug/medication. Any of these things I dealt with or anything that keeps you from being whole and free in Christ, God is there to take it from you.  Your knees are buckling under the load, he didn’t make you for that purpose, it’s too heavy for you, but not for Him, hand it over. All these things I mentioned or anything else like them are what I now call "Satan’s dungeons". If you are in one, get up off that cold hard floor, go to the door of that awful place and try opening the door. Trust me; you can pull it open because it has never been locked. Jesus holds all of the locks along with their keys. That’s what he did on the cross, He saved us by taking the keys from hell away from Satan, and we just have to accept we need Him and believe! Walk through that door out into the healing light of freedom that only God is able to provide for us through His Son, Jesus! If it’s been just one day, so many you lost count or you know exactly how long it's been down to the minute, it doesn't matter because God loves you outrageously, extravagantly and unconditionally and He wants you free!

Will I have pain some days? Sure, our bodies are not made to last, but what matters is where my focus and faith is every day. Therefore, each morning I ask God for the faith, love and peace I need for that 24 hour period, no more, no less.  Why would I do that every day? Why not just ask once?  Because I know me and I must give myself over to Jehovah Jireh ( my God who provides) every single day for the rest of my life or risk being in that dungeon again. 

Listen, I know, it's scary and it will be uncomfortable, maybe it will be the hardest thing you've ever done. I've been there, so focused on my pain,  my faith was in the meds and a doctor who doesn’t even believe in a god much less My Jehovah, that I never even thought to try the door!  But as soon as I did, I walked out of that sad, dank, dark dungeon and into that healing light and freedom!  Come join me - let's be FREE!

P.S. If you want to know more about this freedom through Christ, send me a comment, I’d love to explain it!

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