Today we celebrated Christmas Day, but for the past few days, weeks and months, we have been preparing ourselves and perhaps our family, especially for this day. For those of us who have lost someone special or grieving about difficult circumstances, this day can be harder to plan for or be excited about. It seems especially hard when we watch others who get so excited. Maybe other Christmas celebrations brought better memories. Our expectations of certain holidays, especially Christmas it seems, make it difficult when our celebration is no longer the same. In the hymn written by Charles Wesley, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, the words “born to set Thy people free,” really stand out to me. For many years before Christ was born, prophets spoke of His coming. Isaiah is a great example of one of these Old Testament prophets.
How Is He Setting Me Free?
Last year and this year, certain themes of Christmas resonated with me. In 2020, peace, or accepting silence, stood out to me. This year, the theme “born to set His people free” really connected with me. There are many ways or issues in which I need to be free. So do you! We can be free of grief, free of guilt, free of constant rush, and many other areas. Jesus was born over 2000 years ago. He came to set us free! Free of sin and eternal separation is the first area where He came to set us free. In our sin and our human nature, we have SO many other ways we need to be freed.
I, personally, have been dealing with family issues for many decades. Even though I still deal with pain and discouraging situations each day; the love of Christ is molding me and changing me to look at people and pain more through His eyes and less through mine. I need His wisdom to act and speak in a way that represents Him and not my own pains and fears. It doesn’t mean I don’t experience the pain and the fear that I have been conditioned to; but Christ came to set me free from them and give me victory over them. I thank Him for the sacrifice that He made for me that also makes me stronger and able to live in His victory.
Do You Feel Free Now?
Do you feel free right now? I encourage you, if you don’t already know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, to seek Him, to find Salvation in Him. If Christ is already your Savior, and you are struggling with something in your life that is bringing a lot of unrest, pain, and hurt, I encourage you to look to the Lord as He is the one who has already set you free, but you can cling to Him and really accept this freedom as your own. I personally have looked at the ability I have to be free as He was specifically born to set people free (including me). What better time than Christmas, when we celebrate His birth, to celebrate the fact that He came specifically to set us free?
Now Is A Great Time To Evaluate
If we take the time to evaluate Him, why He came and what this means to us personally; I think that we will have a greater understanding, appreciation and more joy in our life. Even when our circumstances are less than optimal, we will find joy. When we hurt and we wish that the pain in our life was not there. We wish that our life is as good as we perceive others lives are. Chances are, plenty of people are dealing with tough circumstances also that they don’t tell us about. Their appearance portrays that all is well. May we find our rest in the Lord, that He is sufficient to meet our every need. “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” includes many of these encouraging phrases such as “let us find our rest in Him.” and
by thine own eternal spirit,
rule in all our hearts alone
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne
Charles Wesley, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Don’t forget! He came to free and deliver you from the bondage of sin, of fear, pain, guilt, grief and more. The verse written by Isaiah, the prophet that I mentioned earlier, states:
He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.He understands how we feel and what we are going through. A great verse from the New Testament explains this well also.
Isaiah 53:3, NLT
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most
Hebrews 4:15-16, NLT
Merry Christmas!!!
Great Message!
Great article. The prison most individuals find themselves in is “the prison of the mind!” There are so many in the Body of Christ struggling to be “free” But refuse to surrender their pain to the Lord.
We are encouraged in the Word of God to “cast down all thoughts and imaginations that exalts itself above God!” The battle we all suffer with is in our mind.
Once again great article. Thanks for writing and posting this article to remind us to surrender our pain to Father God.😇👣
Thank you! I’m so glad that you are encouraged! You are right! And the verse “ casting all thoughts and imaginations that exalts itself above God!” Is excellent for this very reason!
You are welcome! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.😊👣
Thanks so much!