Listen

Before faith came, we were guarded under the Law, locked up until faith that was coming would be revealed, so that the Law became our custodian until Christ so that we might be made righteous by faith.

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian.

Galatians 3:23-25

Think

I still remember accidentally locking myself inside a small bathroom at our church when I was a child. Between a stubborn lock and my wet and soapy hands, I thought I was doomed. Thankfully, someone came to my rescue pretty quickly with an old coat hanger and helped unlock the door.

I wonder if we can’t really appreciate what it means to be set free until we have been trapped. When we feel locked up by shame, doubt, pain, or fear, it can be completely overwhelming. Like suffocating. We can’t imagine any way out.

It’s pretty cliché to say that faith is like the coat hanger that gets us out of even the toughest situations. The reality is that faith doesn’t always fix things. Some of the most faithful people I know have experienced some of the deepest pain imaginable — pain that simply cannot be fixed.

But faith can set us free. Even the most mustard seed-sized faith can give us the courage to unlock the door and to take one step forward.

Mary Alice Birdwhistell

Pray

Deliver me, oh God, from a faith that settles for easy answers. Give me a deeper faith to wonder, to dream, and to discover more about who you are and who you are calling me to be. Amen.

Go

May our good God fully deliver you
from whatever it is that is
holding you back,
dragging you down,
locking you in,
or drowning you out,
so that you might be free
to do what God is calling you to do
and to become who God is creating you to be.
Amen.