Psalm 119:45 I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.

So many people see God’s laws as restrictive, when quite the opposite is true. As I tell people in parenting seminars, we have an innate need for boundaries; without them we are uneasy. When we recognize the boundaries God has set in His wisdom and love, then the assorted false limits the devil uses to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) are seen as the lies they are, and we are set free. God creates every human being with amazing potential, and the devil hates that. There are worlds of destructive behaviors, and the devil tries to lure us into them with promises of “freedom,” when they are actually restrictive as well as destructive. When we recognize that God’s commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:3) but rather are to protect us, then by seeking to follow them we can move forward with assurance in all areas. The Japanese translation of this verse says, “walk about broadly.” That’s what we are really seeking with such things as the slogan, “No limits.”

I deal with this constantly. People frequently want to know how it is that I can do so many things, and I always tell them it’s because my parents raised me with moral boundaries but not mental ones; they never told me, “That’s beyond your abilities.” They did, however, not hesitate to tell me when things were wrong, and not to be done for that reason. As a pastor I deal with many people – probably the majority of all the people I deal with – who are locked in invisible boxes, much like the mimes that people like to make fun of. They do not seek God’s precepts, and so they accept boundaries of other sorts that cut them off from all sorts of blessings that God intends for them. I do seek to help them recognize the falsehood of those boundaries, but to do so I must teach them God’s true boundaries, that are to set us free. That’s exactly what Jesus was talking about in John 8:32, when He said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Father, You know those who come to mind as I write. Thank You for how You are liberating one of those from his invisible prison. I pray that he would indeed seek Your precepts and accept them as You open his eyes to them, so that he may walk about broadly indeed, fulfilling the full potential that You have placed in him, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!