For the joy set before him he endured the cross . . .    (Hebrews 12:2) NIV

It was a typical Sunday morning at church, except for one thing. In the back pew sat a man who hadn’t been there for a long time. It’s not that he didn’t want to worship with his church family, but he had been incarcerated for 5 years. This was his first Sunday of freedom. The people in that congregation saw everything that morning through his eyes. The smiles and hugs and tears that greeted him, grateful of his return. The new prayers for him as he moved from serving Jesus behind bars to serving in society again. The way every lyric of the worship songs and every Scripture passage seemed divinely orchestrated to remind us of freedom in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to help us live day to day. The joy on his face reflected what must have felt like finally drawing a deep breath after so long in the “grave” of his circumstances, comparable to the inexpressible joy of the moment when Jesus drew His first breath after His resurrection.
Suffocated by the weight of our sins, Jesus conquered death to breathe and worship anew. And what was the reason for the joy on His face? US! He’d successfully purchased our freedom and future. Within a short time, He would return to the right hand of His Father. But before then, He had another assignment — showing Himself to His followers, even those who had let doubts creep in.
He knew we earth dwellers would find our joy in His very presence. The plan worked. He gave up His life for ours and then breathed again. Just imagine how loudly He sang on His first Sunday of freedom!

Faith Step – What’s your favorite “freedom” worship song? Sing TI from your heart, as                 if you’ve been liberated just moments ago. That’s the kind of joy worth                 maintaining every day.