“To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32

      “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.” Galatians 5:1

      Freedom. Freedom from sin. Freedom from bondage. Freedom from death. Freedom is what Christ accomplished for us on the cross. He burst of out of the tomb bringing freedom! Christ came to set us free! “Rejoice in the Lord always: I will say it again – rejoice!” Phil. 4:4

      So, it begs the question: why are so many Christians still in bondage? Seriously. Why are there so many Christ-followers longing for freedom? I think that part of the reason is that we’re afraid – we’re afraid to look deeply and honestly into the depths of our souls to see what lurks beneath the surface. We’re terrified, actually, to be faced with the reality that we’re failures – we’re wretched – we’re supremely selfish – we’re lustful – we’re angry – we’re nauseatingly prideful – we think we know it all – we don’t think we need anyone else – we’re rebellious – and on and on and on. We are depraved. To the depths.

      One of the most beautiful treasures about the gospel and grace of Jesus Christ is this: when brought in to the life-giving light of Christ Jesus, even the truth about our darkness sets us free. Even the truth about our darkness sets us free! And until we are willing to come face-to-face with the full reality of our darkness, we’ll never be able to sufficiently mourn and grieve over our sin. And until we are heartbroken and sorrowful over the depth of our depravity and sin, we’ll never be able to fall on our faces in God-honoring repentance. And until we repent, we’ll never truly be able to be restored. And unless we are fully restored, we will never enjoy the freedom that Christ intended to be ours.

      In order for Christ to bring us freedom, He had to humble Himself – a humbling that we can’t even begin to wrap our minds around. We must be willing to humble ourselves, as well. To accept what is true – about Christ and about ourselves. It’s not easy. It may take a whole lot of time, a whole lot of wrestling, a whole lot of energy, a whole lot of tears. It’s messy. It’s hard. It’s not glamorous. But there’s no other way.

      One of the seasons of greatest transformation for me came almost 20 years ago, when I began praying the last two verses of Psalm 139. I prayed them for weeks and weeks on end: “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” God answered my prayer. And it was one of the most painful, eye-opening, gut-wrenching, wonderful, difficult, amazing, life-changing seasons in my walk with the Lord. I learned during that season to cherish introspection – deep, soul-searching introspection. Because I learned that, when brought to the feet of my sweet Savior Jesus, even the truth about my darkness set me free! And I am free indeed!

      The other day, while reading My Utmost for His Highest, I came across a breathtakingly beautiful rewording of some of the verses of that very psalm (139). I pray that it will bless you…and that you will resolve this year to pray it unceasingly. God will hear and answer such a prayer!

      “Thou are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea; but, my God, my soul has further horizons than the early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of the earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature – Thou Who art the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot trace, dreams I cannot get at – my God, search me out.”

      He writes just a few sentences later: “Cleansing from sin is to the very heights and depths of our spirit if we will keep in the light as God is in the light, and the very Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirits.”

      Oh, may it be so in me, Lord! May it be so in me.