YouTube: Call to Freedom
Independence Day is a time when we celebrate our freedom as a nation and as individuals. Although everyone faces the occasional restrictive condition, and life in the land of the free is not without its challenges, it isn’t difficult to find many blessings to count living in a country like ours. The greatest oppression most of us face is the tyranny of our own thinking. Answering the call to freedom involves an examination of the internal dialogue that occupies our mind.
Jesus spoke of the truth that sets us free. He specifically named worry about the future and the fear of lack as two of the most debilitating conditions. The remedy he offered was the assurance that the Father knows our needs even before we pray for help. What does this mean? He was saying we need not live in constant worry and fear about the future or our material needs. We should focus instead on living each day, surrendering our worries and fears to the understanding that a greater good is now unfolding through every aspect of our experience.
The freedom you experience in your morning quiet time may evaporate in a cascade of worry by afternoon. Inner freedom requires presence of mind, a kind of mental and emotional situational awareness. Jesus talked about the foolish virgins who missed the wedding feast because they had no oil for their lamps. This is us, unprepared for an unanticipated challenge triggering a flareup of negative thought and emotion. We all succumb to negative surprises, but, like the ten wise virgins, our oil of mindfulness keeps us prepared. The moment we start our negative response, we catch it, and we say no to it.
We might attempt to achieve a state where we never worry or fear again. This is not realistic. The only time we can deal with the tyranny of our thinking is at this moment. Both the call to freedom and our answer to this call occur simultaneously. Freedom never stops calling and we never stop answering. The key is to be aware of how we are responding to this call.