In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man…You are my God, and I will give thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever.

(Ps 118.5-8,28)

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…

(Isa 61.1)

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

(Lk 13.10)

You are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus..It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

(Gal 3.26-28,5.1&13)

He finds me with my eyes fixed on the ground at my feet, looking for my reflection in the dirt as though there was nothing of value in me; avoiding eye contact so that I might not see the scorn, the rejection, the confirmation of my own worthlessness in the faces of others.

He finds me with my back doubled over under a burden of shame for past sin; for years of failing in love to others, a lifetime of rejecting his lordship of my life and wasting that precious gift in selfishness.

He finds me shrunk in upon myself, desperately protecting what remains of the vulnerable child who so longs to love and be loved, to live each day to the full and sleep without troubled dreams. In my extremity, I have put up so many defences against further pain, so many facades of indifference and independence, that I barely know anymore where the real person lies hidden.

He finds me….He, whose name is Love, seeks and finds me. He, whose name is Truth, knows my truth and sees past every defence to that weary and terrified child whom He loves so much. He, whose name is Life, touches me and speaks – and the Word whose power called forth the universes speaks life into this chaos and darkness.

And I find myself, slowly and astonishingly, raising not only my eyes, but my whole body so that I can look into the face of Truth, Life and Love and see there a profound delight and overflowing gladness that He has found me and we may know one another. How can this be? That holiness and power should choose to be allied to such frail flesh? I cannot understand the mystery of divine love, but I rejoice in the immeasurable riches which I receive through it, and praise the God who thus deals with his creatures.

Because He found me, I stand tall today. I stand fearless before God and man, since nothing can break the bond which binds me to my Lord, and all the evils which man might do ultimately are of no effect. I look the world in the eyes steadily, knowing that I am of priceless worth to God, and my status in this world is irrelevant to my standing with Him.

Because He found me, I stand free today. The burdens of guilt and sin are rolled away at the cross of Christ, and I am forgiven, fully and forever. There are no chains anymore to bind me to pursuit of peace by selfish indulgence, or by slavish observance. Nothing has any power over me except the love of Christ, and to obey Him is my fullest freedom.

I stand up today for Jesus Christ, not because He needs me to defend Him, but because I am so proud and thankful to be his beloved, redeemed and restored for life eternal. I stand up today for Jesus to be counted as His, a living testament to His grace, power and love. With the psalmist, I choose to say, “You are my God, and I will give thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever!”