Looking for true freedom

I was sitting inside a local restaurant enjoying a salad, wonderful tasting bread and delicious black coffee with just a touch of skim milk, when my ears caught sounds from a loud conversation taking place at the next table. I tried to refrain from eavesdropping but a lady made a comment that caused me to reflect on what she said.

The woman was sharing her life with a companion. I heard her say, "Well I am almost finished. I only have one more appointment with Doctor so-and-so, and I'm finally caught up with my to-do list. I'll be free" She drew a big sigh of relief and settled back comfortably in her padded chair -- an enviable look of peace coming across her face.

I took another sip of coffee, feeling the warm taste on my tongue, and pondered the truth of her statement. "Then, I'll will be all caught up. I'll be free. What does being free mean? Does it mean that you've finished all your work or you've completed a project on which you've been working? Or does being free mean that you can do anything you want to do? You have no responsibilities sitting on your shoulders? Freedom means many things to various people.

As I continued to dwell on the absolute truth of her comment, I came to quite a different conclusion. I asked myself, "Does what happens on the outside of your life determine whether someone is captive or free, slave or free man/woman? I think not. Rather, it is the inner person that decides on our feelings of freedom or captivity.

Many of the Jewish population suffered horrible deaths during the holocaust. Atrocities that were too terrible for most to fathom, were committed during the slaughter. However there were many who refused to give in, to allow the persecutors to get the best of their spirit. They were free inside themselves. Although they were subjected to more than most could stand, some, were steadfast in their refusal to bend within. They could be hurt on the outside, and yes, on the inside too physically, but no one could touch their sense of freedom within themselves. They had the peace of God living inside.

Scripture tells us that true freedom begins in the heart. That makes sense when you realize that it's how you feel inside that matters. If our hearts aren't changed our behavior will not be changed. We act on our thoughts and behave according to our thoughts. So true freedom comes only when we find that comfortable, peaceful, and fulfilled place existing only -- inside our hearts.

You may talk about freedom in connection with a free country, the freedom to vote, the freedom of a slave, or a prisoner acquiring his freedom regardless of where you are in your journey of what's important to you in your life; there are certain criteria the Bible offers, that can provide a measuring stick to guide us in the true description of freedom.

True freedom is found in God alone. Jeremiah 17:17 says "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord."

John 8:32 says, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If we are looking for real joy, peace and freedom from the cares, and worries of life, we will never find it in man. Man does not have what it takes to fill that void. Only God or our higher power can sustain us."

As I further thought about that sentence the woman voiced, "Then I will be free," I recognized that she probably used that as a figure of speech, but perhaps not. We often try to fix ourselves, try to make our lives work according to our specifications, but it doesn't work in the long haul, unless we place our trust in God. Then we are FREE indeed. Someone larger than us is in control.