Finding True Freedom, Strength, and Wisdom

Finding True Freedom, Strength, and Wisdom

Scripture Reading

Psalm 118:5 (NLT)

“In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.”

Matthew 5:5 (NLT)

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”

Proverbs 9:10 (NLT)

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”

Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."

Finding True Freedom, Strength, and Wisdom

I have to admit, there are days when I read these Scriptures and think, “Lord, I know this. I really do. So why am I still struggling with it?” 😂

Ross and I have both spent much of our lives learning how to navigate a world that doesn't always seem to make sense to us. We both have ADHD and mild autism, and sometimes our brains simply work differently. We have struggled our way through life, made plenty of mistakes, learned some very hard lessons, and somehow managed to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

You would think that after all these years, we would have this life thing figured out by now.

Well...

We don't. 😂

We can still struggle with finances, emotions, household responsibilities, getting organized, and simply accomplishing things that we know we should do. Sometimes we want so badly to do something, and yet our brains seem to put up a giant roadblock.

There are things we want to do.

There are things we need to do.

There are things we know God has placed on our hearts to do.

And sometimes we just sit there thinking, “Why can't I make myself do this?”

If we could put our internal conversations on a loudspeaker, I'm pretty sure some folks would become extremely confused. 😂

But perhaps that's one reason Psalm 118:5 speaks so deeply to me:

“In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.”

Notice that the Psalmist didn't say, “In my distress I pulled myself together and figured everything out.”

He prayed.

That is comforting because sometimes prayer is the only thing we can do.

There have been times when my mind has become so overwhelmed that my emotions take over. Sometimes I can go from being okay to being completely overwhelmed and angry, and eventually I have a meltdown.

The difficult part comes afterward.

I remember the emotions.

I remember how intensely I felt them.

But sometimes I can't even remember what started it.

And that can be incredibly frustrating.

Someone else may want to talk it through, figure out what happened, and resolve the problem. But by then, I can feel emotionally drained, exhausted, and completely finished with the whole situation. I don't even care about whatever started it anymore because, honestly, sometimes I don't remember what it was!

That doesn't mean the emotions weren't real.

It means I was overwhelmed.

And I'm still learning what to do with that.

Thankfully, God is patient with me while I learn.

I have always been told that I am a control freak—a “my way or the highway” kind of woman. And honestly, there is probably some truth to that. 😂

But when you grow up in circumstances where you don't have much control over what happens to you, you can learn to grab hold of whatever control you can find.

For a long time, control felt like safety.

Now God is teaching me something different.

Control isn't the same thing as security.

God is.

That's where Matthew 5:5 comes in:

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”

Humility doesn't mean thinking we're worthless. It doesn't mean becoming a doormat or pretending we don't have opinions, abilities, or strength.

Sometimes humility simply sounds like:

“Lord, I can't do this by myself.”

And there is tremendous freedom in those words.

I recently discovered that I have ADHD, and suddenly so many things about my life began making more sense.

Things I once thought were character flaws had explanations.

Things I had beaten myself up over began to look different.

And yet I don't want to use any diagnosis—or any difficulty—as an excuse.

Instead, I want to understand myself better so that I can allow God to help me become better.

Because God doesn't ask me to become someone else.

He asks me to surrender who I am to Him.

Proverbs 9:10 tells us:

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”

The fear of the Lord isn't about being terrified that God is waiting to punish us.

It is about recognizing who He is.

He is God.

He is holy.

He is wise.

He sees what we cannot see.

And He knows things we will never understand this side of heaven.

Sometimes wisdom begins when we stop insisting that our way must be the right way and become willing to ask, “Lord, what is Your way?”

And that brings me to Isaiah 40:31.

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They wil walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40 opens the second major division of the book of Isaiah, written to a Jewish audience facing or enduring the Babylonian exile. Their temple lay in ruins, their nation was destroyed, and their identity was shaken.  I have felt that in my life!

Verse 30 acknowledges this deep exhaustion: "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall." Human strength—even at its physical peak—has a low limit. Verse 31 directly answers that despair.

​The Hebrew Nuance: "Trust" and "Exchange"

Two key Hebrew concepts unlock the deeper depth of this passage:

​"Trust" / "Wait" (Qavah): Translations alternate between trust, wait, and hope. Qavah literally means to stretch out like a cord, to twist together, or to wait with active, eager expectation. It isn't passive sitting; it is a tense, expectant reliance on God's character.

​"Find new" / "Renew" (Chalaph): The phrase "find new strength" comes from chalaph, which means "to exchange" or "to substitute." Believers do not simply muster up existing internal reserve; they surrender their depleted human strength in exchange for God's boundless divine power.

​"Soar high on wings like eagles": Eagles do not gain height by frantic flapping; they catch thermal updrafts of warm air to glide effortlessly. The metaphor promises moments of high vision and miraculous elevation above crisis, sustained by God's currents.

​"Run and not grow weary": Represents periods of high effort, intense crisis, or rapid momentum. It is the stamina required to navigate life's sprints without burning out.

​"Walk and not faint": The true climax of the verse. While soaring is thrilling and running is dynamic, most of life is lived at a walking pace. It takes the greatest endurance to keep taking step after step through long, monotonous, or grueling seasons without giving up.

​Ultimately, Isaiah 40:31 promises that active dependence on God transforms human exhaustion by replacing finite human effort with endless divine capacity.

So let's bring that down a notch for us everyday folks to understand! Us actively depending on our Triune God will actually help us! God takes our exhaustion and OUR effort and guides us to do better with His divine strength and capabilities. 

This is why we a couple of bumbling silly humans could go from homelessness to Homeowner.

Do we still struggle? Everyday!

Does it put us into despair and fear? No. We have learned where our strength comes from.

We have learned to be patient and wait.

Have you?

Amen!

Abba Father, Creator of everything.

Thank you for the lessons of hardship.

They make us pay more attention to details.

Thank you for lessons in patience. 

That makes us more relatable.

Thank you for lessons from the Bible.

That let's  us know you have cared about us silly humans since the beginning of time!

Thank you for a Church Family that loves you and your people beyond measure. 

That keeps us humble.

Thank you Lord for always loving us, just 2 silly humans trying to love you and all you have created.

Please Lord help others see and know you like we do, personally and completely. 

In Jesus, precious name we pray!

Amen!

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth,

As it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom,

And the power, and the glory,

Forever and ever.

Amen!

BELIEVE, OBEY, BE BLESSED AMEN BOBBA ❤️ 

Love, Penny 💛 

#Godisgood #faith #devotional