Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Me...a tyrant?

Psalm 51:12
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

OK, you may think that I have gone off the deep end but I sure hope so. I bought this little daily devotion calendar from the book of Psalms at a yard sale the other day for a dollar and it had never been opened. First of all, it was 366 devotions and God has been prophetically speaking that number to a friend of mine for years now because that is her house number. He has been saying, “I am going to visit your house.” So, in turn, He has been speaking to me.

When I got home, I opened it to the current date and this is the passage that was on that page. Simply, “uphold me with your free spirit”. Well…I haven’t been able to just read over it and go on! Praise God!

I lay on my bed last night at what others might call an ungodly hour but Oh…it was Godly! God was there…I could almost feel the bed weigh down with His presence as He sat reading the word with me.

Holy Spirit. Free spirit. Uphold me with your free spirit. That word free is quite an interesting word. Not only does it mean what we would think it means…voluntary, willing, without price. It also means generous & liberal, MAGNANIMOUS!

That word magnanimous suggests a courageous spirit or nobility of feeling or generosity of mind. Uphold me with your courageous spirit Lord. Uphold me with the generosity of your mind.

And if that’s not enough…this is where I am astounded at Holy Spirit! The word free means… "sometimes a tyrant”. Now, I read that and thought…what? Now why would that be there? What does that have to do with Holy Spirit…free spirit?

So I began to search this word out. What does being a tyrant really entail? Look with me at the definition of tyranny. It means, “government in which absolute power is invested in a single ruler.” You see, there has been a perversion of what we understand to be “free” in America. We have called this country, “one nation under God”. According to my estimation, that should very well translate, “government in which absolute power is invested in a single ruler.” But freedom, taken out of context, has become the tool in the hand of the tyrant (counterfeit freedom)…the one who is unrestrained by law or constitution, a usurper of sovereignty. A tool used to eliminate the freedoms that have been given us and are rightfully ours.

Matthew 11:12 says, The kingdom of heaven, suffers violence (counterfeit freedom) and the violent (the tyrant, the truly free) taking it by force. Now there's a thought! Turn about...fair play!

1 comment:

Melissa Flores said...

Freedom: sometimes a tyrant... you are the queen of irony. We are recipients of that free spirit... the Spirit of Freedom! I can't wait to read what you write next!