Written by Mark Driskill:
Read Revelation 18:1-24
Jake had been on death row for twenty seven years. But today the unthinkable was about to happen. He cowered in the corner of his cell listening to the haunting steps echoing waves of terror in his direction. Muttering voices from weary guards sent tremors through his weakening heart. Aftertwenty seven years his great dread would be realized. He had received the news the preceding night and didn’t sleep a wink knowing what was about to happen.
The buzz of gates opening and closing dragged on for eternity. Finally the sound of a key turning in his gut made him sick with terror. Then the guard spoke the words he had feared all night. “Jake, you have been pardoned. It’s time to go. You are a free man.” This was what he was afraid of. You would expect him to rejoice at the news of freedom, but after 27 years of predictable, secure prison life the thought of living out there terrified him. He had sought freedom for 27 years, but when it came suddenly he wasn’t sure he could handle it. “At least in prison I know where I am going to sleep and what I’m going to eat.” But the freedom he longed for carried with it all sorts of fears and uncertainties. A person can become so used to bondage that the idea of freedom frightens them. This is because bondage is easy. It requires nothing more than going along with its demands mindlessly bowing to the power of whatever is controlling you. Whether it is a drug, and abusive husband, an immoral lifestyle, or an oppressive government.
Freedom, on the other hand requires faith. Living in the boundlessness of free choice and victory requires that we risk getting hurt, making mistakes, and falling down on our faces.
Perhaps this is why in Revelation 18 when Babylon, the center of evil on the world falls and it’s oppression is removed, the kings, and merchants of the earth are found weeping. You can almost hear them saying: “What will we do now?” For a moment the fear of living without the familiar chains of satanic bondage made them forget just how awful it was to live as the slaves of an oppressor. Sometimes when a person begins to see the light of freedom from sin they begin to feel the same fear; “How will I cope?”
Paul chided the Galatians who had found freedom in Christ, for sneaking back toward the bondage of the law; “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” Galatians 3:1 they were so afraid of the unpredictable, unfettered, joy of living in the freedom of the Spirit that they began to long for the familiar chains of the law. He warned then that bondage may be easy but it always leads to death. Many people today hide from God not because they are afraid he will not help them get free…but because they are afraid he will. It takes faith to believe that the God who sets you free will stay with you and show you how to walk in freedom. It takes faith to chart a new course trusting the captain of the sea to guide you safely home. It takes faith to be free. This is why in our country we cannot afford to live as if there is no God. We dare not continue down the path of extricating him from our lives. Any nation that has thrown faith out the door has regretted it. Let us cherish faith and freedom for they truly walk hand in hand.
Mark Driskill and his wife Mary are homeschooling community ministers in Breathitt County Kentucky. They have four children. They co pastor Emmanuel fellowship Church, serve as Camp Pastors at Bethel Mennonite Camp, and Mark Teaches at Oakdale Christian Academy. Mark is web minister for Begotten by the Word , a ministry of Helping Hands Christian Resources. Once a month he preaches on the local radio station through the “Lion of Judah” program.
Mark also preaches in youth rallies and revivals upon request at no charge. Their vision is to see true spiritual awakening come to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and to the nation.
Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.
