Live His Freedom

“You have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters” (Galatians 5:13, NLT). “Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17, NLT).

No one likes to face pain. When you live through suffering, your natural instinct is to bury the pain as deep as you can. But that is not God’s plan. What may be your natural instinct is not His. He never wastes your hurt or what you face, and He does not want you to bury it. He longs to use the pain you experience—the things that you regret—the highs and the lows—the fears and the failures—the very things from which you want to hide—for His glory. Your pain is more than just being about you. He wants you to experience the incredible freedom that comes with the presence of His Spirit so that your healing will make a difference in the life of someone else.

Sometimes you want to hide and get away from what you face. You build a wall to protect yourself from the hurt, but building a wall doesn't protect you. It imprisons your heart. It imprisons your spirit. It imprisons healing of your own wounds and hinders God’s freedom to mold and use you. That wall turns your heart into a heart of stone because, in closing yourself off, you have shut out His presence. But when you allow that wall of false protection to tumble down, He turns your pain into victory—not just for your benefit but so others have access to your life.

“I'll give you a new heart,” He promises, “and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26, NIV). When your heart yields completely to Him, it becomes one of tender spiritual flesh. It is a heart that is malleable, vulnerable, and not afraid of the pain that often accompanies healing. It is heart that is ready to face the hurt of the past or the present head-on and allow Him freedom to do whatever is necessary. Willing to deal with whatever must be faced that heart trusts that if God has exposed the pain He is more than capable of handling all that has caused it.

What do you wish for your life?  Do you wish for your life to be real, vulnerable, and willing? Do you which to experience healing of your mind—your body—your spirit so that He can use you to bring healing to someone else?  The wall keeping your pain tightly in place keeps you from experiencing the freedom of His Spirit. Relinquish your wall. Open yourself to His firing. Allow Him to mold and move you as He desires. Pain you experience in life is not meant to bury you. It is meant for you to soar. 

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

I Rejoice

So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure” (Psalm 32:11, NLT)!

Celebrate! Delight! Rejoice! If I obey Him, I can rejoice in His faithfulness no matter the storm—no matter if my heart is torn. He also instructs that I am to be glad. This means that I am cheerfully willing—I am prepared—I am eager because in my surrender to His purpose, I have the assurance He is in control. Every day is hard, and the days stretch into the future with a sadness of loss that comes when watching a loved one gradually lose himself. Right now God’s purpose for me is to live this journey—to serve Him because He so loved me—to gain understanding of obedience from His perspective—to glean His wisdom in the midst of pain—to take great joy in the smallest blessings. I draw closer to my father in the moments that are quickly waning. I draw closer to the Lord because that is the only way I can walk this path. There is a tenderness of heart that only He can mold in me. There is a joy that only He is able to perfect. If I faithfully walk this path He was placed before me, I receive His promise of abundance. My life is abundantly joyful because in my weakness, I experience His strength. There is no greater peace than knowing He has given Himself to my need—that He has taken the burden and imparted His power. He lives in me in depths that I would have never known if I had refused. Faithful is He to do in me what He has asked of me. This journey purifies my heart. I rejoice in Him! I shout for joy that His purpose is my greatest promise!  

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

Freedom to Forgive

Do you say you believe God's grace has forgiven you, but that is not how you live? You might declare that grace is God's undeserved favor, but if you don't feel it down in your innermost being then you are caught on the treadmill of constantly striving to be better. So many believers try to get rid of their guilt by trying to work harder at it. Resentment—striving—anxiety all take their toll. They end up punishing themselves by creating more suffering for themselves and others. They find that they are unable to atone for that what only Jesus can atone. Many know in their minds that they are forgiven, but can't feel His forgiveness and love in their hearts. They don't get it in their spiritual “gut” that grace is free and can never be repaid.

“If you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive you of your sins” (Matthew 6:15, NLT). Unless you forgive, you will not experience His forgiveness and live in the freedom of His grace. You experience this freedom when you freely forgive from the heart. The Lord says to forgive your enemies. What if you are your worst enemy? Forgive, He imparts! How you see yourself is how you see others. Saying you believe you are forgiven but not experiencing His forgiveness, reveals that you have not allowed His grace to transform your heart. Judgment builds. Hurt inflames. Bitterness hardens your heart. Anger and resentment, directed not only at others but at yourself, binds you in a prison of unforgiveness that will ultimately destroy you.

If you are unable to experience God's forgiveness, then you may be on a treadmill of striving, and achieving what you believe will make God love you more. If you want to experience God's unmerited grace in your deepest being, quit trying so hard to make amends for what only Jesus’ grace can set free. Be sure you have not only asked Him into your heart, but that you also seek Him as Lord of your life. Choose to believe that He can change you. Slow down and quit striving mentally and emotionally. Tell Him you want to forgive yourself and forgive others so that you will no longer live in a perpetual state of bitterness and resentment. You can only choose to forgive. You can't make yourself emotionally feel it. But He can. Don't analyze. Don't strive. Allow Him to seep into the depths of your soul. Ask Him to set you free from the “I'm not worthy mindset” that keeps you from receiving His forgiveness. One day you will not only know that you are forgiven. You will feel His forgiveness, and give it unreservedly to others with a love and freedom that only He can impart.

© 2017 Lynn Lacher

His Goodness

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:12-14, NIV).

Wait on the Lord. Be strong. Be patient. Hold on, and you will see His goodness while yet living. Patience is not easy, but it is a virtue that when practiced brings great reward. Follow His will faithfully.  Endure through the hard times, and you will receive what He has promised. Hardship builds character and the ability to endure. If you wait on Him, you will soar in His strength, and not despair within your own. The thought of a hardship or a new challenge will not defeat you, because you walk in His peace. You arise to meet hardships and challenges with His power because you have surrendered your control to His control. You have stopped fighting against the lessons. You have become attuned to His voice, and have allowed the flow of His Spirit to reach through you into each day. You wait, spiritually ready to respond with His least beckoning. His priceless grace has given life that you don’t even deserve. He has set you free to soar no matter what your circumstance. Now you walk in His Spirit each and every moment. You experience the love of God in depths that heals the sadness of each hardship. You know joy that is constant because He is unchanging. You see His goodness in everything. You see Him in the smile of your father’s tired eyes or feel Him in the tender hug of a friend. You know He is with you. Remain strong. Take heart. Hope. Waiting always soars in hope. It renews your strength. You catch the wind of His Spirit, and you are lifted to walk on new heights in His strength and power. Do you see? His goodness is formed and fired within you. You are filled with Him because you have emptied yourself. You are His promise of goodness.

©2017 Lynn Lacher

Free to Love

“O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8, NLT).

What do you desire, Lord? What can I offer you that is good? What can I give you that brings you joy? There is really nothing I can bring but myself. The gift of my life—surrendered to you without any right of ownership—is what you desire. You call me to do what is right. For me to do what is right, I give up all my rights. I have none. You own my heart—my mind—my spirit. You have purchased my soul. In your Word you instruct me in the way I should go. I long to be as a tree planted along a river which bears good fruit in season. Its leaves never wither; it prospers. It has deep roots. Lord, I want to blossom and never wither—to prosper in your purpose and stand strong when hardship comes. With an obedient heart I choose to do what you deem right in each circumstance—whether that circumstance is one of hardship or one of joy. You ask for mercy to reign in my heart. You ask me to love beyond the limits of my human ability. You call me to forgive so that I might be free. For my freedom you gave your life. Your mercy looked beyond my fault. Your mercy recognized my need. Your love is forgiveness. How can I not extend mercy and forgiveness to others as you have extended each to me? My life for yours is what you ask of me. I am called to walk humbly in your love having no agenda—to be at rest in your will. When I am at rest I have your incredible peace that encompasses me. If I believe that my control is better than yours, Lord, I destroy your peace with my pride. Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility I receive your wisdom. And in your wisdom I live in your freedom. I trust your heart because you molded mine. You give me the freedom to choose life, Lord, and to do what is right. You bless me with your grace so that my life is filled with your love and purpose. You chose me, Lord. Now I choose to clothe myself with your tenderhearted mercy—with your kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. I have nothing to prove. You prove yourself. I am free to live your love.

©2017 Lynn Lacher

Let Him

“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones” (Psalm 127:1-2, NLT).

Strive. Work. Accomplish. Push. Get something done in time. To be driven and focused can be a good thing, but it can also rule your life if what you attempt is in your own strength. Unless the Lord is in your efforts, your effort are useless. Not only are your efforts without Him useless—you will also end up experiencing anxiety. When God is your focus, He builds what you cannot accomplish alone. He gives purpose where you lack vision. He directs your efforts, and you discover fulfillment in your efforts instead of frustration. You also cannot protect what is beyond your power or control to protect. Only He can protect the work of your heart and your hands. Only He can bring to birth what He has placed in your heart. He does not want you striving with His call, but knowing the joy that only He can bring to a surrendered heart. When He builds your life and directs your purpose, He protects what He alone can build—a life that has been formed and fired and filled for His best. When He is in control, God truly gives peace and rest to his beloved children. Let Him bear the weight of command. Let Him build your life.

©2017 Lynn Lacher