FREEDOM—Run to God

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. 
He rescues them from all their troubles. -- Psalm 34:17, nlt

Once you discover the root of your feelings, you may hurt even more than when you were hiding those feelings. Know that in order to truly be healed, you have to feel that pain. In your pain, cry out to your King until He wipes away every tear. I promise He will.

King David cried out to God every time he was hurting, and he is known as “a man after God’s own heart.” We find another example of honesty before God in King Hezekiah. He was on his deathbed when he prayed and wept bitterly before the Lord. God heard his prayers, saw his tears, and healed him. If you truly want to be a woman after God’s own heart and want to know the complete healing God offers you, then run to Him every time you hurt. He is your Daddy in heaven, and He longs to comfort and heal you.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary
and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  -- Matthew 11:28, nlt

No one can heal your heart or soothe your soul like your King can. No one loves you more, and no one else has the power or passion for you that your God has. He is the Lover of your soul, and He longs for you to run to Him so that He can heal your every hurt.

His Princess Love Letter

My Princess...

I am your Shield of Protection. Many times you wonder where I am in the midst of the battle that rages around you. You feel abandoned on the battlefield. Don’t be afraid and don’t lose faith. I am here, and I am always victorious. I will protect you, but you must trust Me. Sometimes I will lead you to shelter for safety and restoration. Other times I will ask you to join Me on the front lines in the heat of the battle. I can kill any giant that threatens your life, but, as David the shepherd boy did, you need to march forward, pick up the stones, and face your enemy. I love to prove My strength when the odds against Me are the greatest and hope is the smallest. I am truly your Shelter and your Deliverer, and I will protect you no matter where you are.

Love, your King and your Protector

You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.  -- Psalm 32:7, niv

Our God is our place of rest, our safe place. When we are in His presence, He will restore our mind, our body, and our soul.

After you find the root and run to the King with your hurts, the next step toward freedom is praising Him despite your pain. In fairy tales that I’ve heard, the princesses always seem to maintain hope in the middle of the most miserable circumstances. They somehow know that their prince will rescue them—and he always does. As God’s princess, you have His promise and you can completely trust that your Prince will rescue you. That confident hope is a key to joy and to the ability to praise Him even in the tough times.

Acts 16 gives us a beautiful illustration of what can happen when we praise our Prince in the midst of our trials and tribulations. Paul and Silas, two faithful men of God, were unjustly thrown into prison for boldly sharing God’s message of hope. They could have been angry at God for not protecting them, they could have been worried about their future or their very lives, or they could have chosen to trust the King in their trial and praise Him despite their circumstances. Paul and Silas chose to praise God from a cold, ugly prison cell with songs of praise.

According to Scripture, other prisoners heard and listened as these faithful followers sang songs of love to their Lord. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundation. The doors flew open, and the chains fell off of every prisoner. (Something supernatural happens when, in the midst of battle, we choose to offer a sacrifice of praise to our King!) Not only were Paul and Silas set free from their chains, but every prisoner who was listening and watching their reaction to a bad situation was set free.

This prison scene shows us one reason why it is so important for us to be open and honest when we are struggling: Our reactions affect people around us either for good or not so good. It’s also important for us to be open and honest with our children when we are struggling. Of course we don’t have to give them every detail, but we can have them pray and praise God with us so that they will see for themselves God’s mighty hand move in a tough situation. If we take our children to the King in our times of trouble, when they grow up and experience their own pain and problems, they will know exactly what to do and whom to turn to. (If we don’t show them, who will?) Also, our openness will encourage our children to develop a completely honest and personal relationship with the Lord. No one benefits from the “my life is perfect” or the “I can handle it myself” Christian act. Everyone benefits when we acknowledge that life is not perfect but God is. Everyone benefits from seeing us run to God and praise Him despite our pain and problems—and then seeing that He gives us perfect peace.

King David cried out to God and praised Him in all seasons of his life. Read these words written by the man after God’s heart….

He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be astounded.
They will put their trust in the Lord.  -- Psalm 40:3, nlt

Praise is not denying the problem. Praise is looking to God as the power and solution.

When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you,
sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by
the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.  -- Numbers 10:9, niv

Sometimes our biggest battles happen in the land of our own homes. Therefore we need to get up in the morning and enter into the King’s presence with praise. If you are prayed up and praising God in song at the start of each day, you will set a tone of joy and hope and victory in your home. Remember that our homes are on the top of the enemy’s hit list, so cover your family through prayer and put on praise music first thing in the morning!

Next Week's Teaching: Learn what the letter "E" in FREEDOM stands for!