The very essence of your words is truth;
    all your just regulations will stand forever.
Psalm 119:160

Dear God, I heard someone say a few days ago that binding ourselves to you is where we will find the most freedom. On the surface, that seems paradoxical. How can I experience more freedom if I am submitting to you, your truth, your regulations, and your call on my life?

But the real truth is that we all serve something. We all submit to something. And freedom can also have a lot of meanings. First, in the moments when I am not serving you, I am serving my own self-interests and myself. Or maybe I am codependent with someone else, but even that codependence is serving a need that I have at some level. And yes, I have the “freedom” to make those choices, but that “freedom” will ultimately lock me into a corner where, in order to keep serving myself, I have to sacrifice truth and I am not longer “free” to make my own choices. My self interest dictates my actions.

On the other had, if I have died to myself then the world is open to me. I can seek you and follow wherever you lead. And your path might lead me to hardship, but even the hardships almost always make me a better person, more in tune with you. And you wired me (and all of us) to give ourselves away, love others, and find satisfaction and joy in self sacrifice.

Father, I embrace your truth and your just regulations. May they last forever. I know I fail you. I know that I break away and pursue my own agenda sometimes. I know I can be self-indulgent. I’m sorry for that. I also know that the more success I have in denying that part of me the more I am able to embrace your joy and peace. So given that, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen