Set My Heart Free

"I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. I hold fast to your statutes, O Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." Psalm 119:30-32

"...For you have set my heart free."  I have heard many people reject God because they "can't be good enough" or they feel there are too many rules. My own rebelliousness in contrast has been very small in my life. Some laugh at my attempts to rebel, but in my heart, it still is, even if it seems small to our culture.  And note, I say rebelliousness, not sin.  I sin all the time.  Every day. All day.  And I am thankful for God's grace that covers it, but I digress.

The secret I find many are missing, as described in this Psalm, is that God's laws set us free. They set our hearts free.  They protect us. They give us freedom.  Freedom from guilt and shame and the chains of sin.  God's laws were never meant to bind us, but to free us.

There are a lot of changing laws in our country right now. I read this Psalm, and thought, our country has lost what it means to be truly free. We have lost Christ. We are making new laws that hold us all in more chains, which is the antithesis of the Great Revolution of the United States. (They are also the antithesis of the gospel of Jesus Christ.)  We are making laws to protect everyone's rights, but as a result, by the very same rule, we are denying someone else's rights to be who they are.  More division.  More brokenness.  More pain.  Chains and more chains. 

It was a good reminder to me this morning, on the dawning of a new age, that God's laws have already set my heart free. I also read Psalm 11, which was a reminder of how big our God is. I do not have to worry about what laws do or do not get passed in this country. I am not in chains. I am free.  The only laws I have to follow for my freedom are God's laws.