Freedom

A friend of mine wrote to me today to ask for Bible verses relating to the home. A pastor and his family are buying her house and she wants to leave them with a verse written on a beautiful sign. I know. She is the NICEST. I basically have the best friends, ever.

I shared my favorites with her and then kept thinking about a line I've been wanting to put up in my own house. It's not a Bible verse, per se, but rather, a song lyric:

"From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny."

The first time I sang that lyric, I could barely keep it together.

JESUS COMMANDS MY DESTINY. Over everything. Every sin. Every mistake. Every apology. Every fear. Every great day. Every awful day. Every surprise. Every gift. Everything I can't control. Everything I thought I could control.

How freeing is THAT?

Jesus commands everything. For someone who has tried for a very, very long time to get everything right, I'd have to say I'm only just beginning to understand the amazing LIFE, the LIVING, that comes from understanding the powerful reality that Jesus, not me, is in control.

When life is hard and anxiety creeps in, Jesus commands. When life is amazing and joy abounds, Jesus commands. In life and in death, Jesus commands. He commands and has authority over LIFE. And what greater comfort could there be than the One Who made the Universe, Who made US, commanding the destiny of all our days?

There are lots of people today trying to convince the world that things like sex, money, love, college degrees, houses, marriages, children, social status, absolute perfection and personal effort command the destiny of a person. The Bible, the life of Jesus, tells us that this is simply not true.

Someone bigger than us and wiser than us and Who loves us more than we can ever fathom is in control of our destiny.

And when we put our trust in that?

No guilt. No fear.

From life's first cry to that final, glorious breath.