SURROUNDED BY WALLS

(by Cindy Mead)

Each one of us are surrounded by walls of one kind or another. No one accepts having some kind of restrictions on his or her life. What if l was to tell you that even Jesus had restrictions on His life? You would say, “Jesus was the perfect Son of God.” Yet when He came from the glory of the Father to live as a Man, He restricted Himself to live a human life.  ^“…who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”     

During 2020, many people felt as though they were surrounded by walls, being hemmed in by COVID. One of the major effects was that of isolation, as people were told to stay home as much as possible. In my home in Long Term Care each time a case of COVID was discovered, we were isolated to our rooms. Everyone was surrounded by walls. Some people may have wondered if the Lord was aware of what they were going through.

I can assure you that our Father is always aware of His children and what each one is going through. “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.” (Isaiah 49:16). Our Father has inscribed each and everyone of us on the palms of His hands. Every time our Father looks at His hands, He remembers us and each of our various situations as, in His wisdom, He put us there. He knows the walls, or the confinements, each of us live within. Some people may live with more, and some people may live with less confinements than others. Some of our confinements are physical ones, such as a disability that may confine us to a wheelchair, such as myself. We may think we are confined enough until the Lord tightens, or closes us in even more, as when COVID-19 came upon the whole world. There were periods of time when there was a “stay at home order.” People were only permitted to go out for essential things.  When I lived on my own, I was free to go out on my own. But when I moved to Long Term Care (LTC), I had to have someone with me when I went out. Some people may be confined by their family or employment responsibilities. No one is completely free of confinements or of having walls surrounding their lives.

You may think that, because of the walls surrounding your life, you cannot fulfill the purposes God has for your life. But I have good news for you. The Lord knew what He ordained for you to do, despite the walls or confinements which surround your life, as the Lord also ordained the circumstances of your life. Think of those walls as a picture frame, whatever it might be: a disability, being unemployed or a single parent, or so many other situations. Do not be like I used to be and think that your situation is hindering you from serving the Lord. Instead, see your situation as the blinders which is keeping you focused on what the Lord has purposed you to do. I used to see my wheelchair as hindering me from serving the Lord, instead of seeing it as keeping me focused on my writing.  During the times when my LTC isolated us in our rooms because of yet another case of COVID being discovered, I was able to do a lot of writing; I have even been able to finish writing my book, which took me ten years.

I see people outside, walking or driving, it may appear that they are free of confinements. But if I had a chance to see beyond the surface of their lives, I would soon discover that they have confinements of their own.

What some people may see as a confinement, others may see as being free. Again, I’ll use myself as an example. An able-bodied person may see I’m in a wheelchair and from their perspective they may think I am confined, but from my perspective, my motorized wheelchair gives me the freedom to get around on my own. It is because I’m in a wheelchair that I can be focused on my writing and whatever else my Father has in store for me.

Many people may have inner confinements which keep them from pursuing a dream or from obtaining their true potential in life. It could be that they were put down by those who were closest to them while they were growing up, and they are still believing the lies they grew up with. Unless we find freedom from the confinements of the past, we will never be free to rise above those issues to be and do all our Father has purposed for us from before the beginning of time. Our outer confinements or limitations cannot hinder us from doing and fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives, as long as we do not allow them to. But so often we allow our inner confinements to keep us in bondage from doing anything. The Lord knows what we are capable of doing as He created us with the ability to do what He is asking us to do, despite any disabilities or confinements we may have. There are always ways to compensate for physical confinements by using various devices. I will give you a personal example. I’m a writer (typing with just one finger), but I found it difficult to type with the keyboard flat on the desk. So, I bought a laptop holder which tilts the keyboard up towards me. But that still wasn’t enough of a tilt so I put a long magic (bean) bag under the top of the keyboard to raise the top a bit higher. Once I put a wrist pad in front of the keyboard, it was perfect. Since I cannot use a regular mouse, I use the number pad on the left side of the keyboard since I’m left-handed (most keyboards have the number pad on the right side). In doing all that, as well as slowing down my keyboard, I’m able to type comfortable without too many mistakes. That is just an example of how a physical limitation can be overcome.

But so often we allow our inner confinements to keep us in bondage from doing anything. We are talking about inner confinements, those which no one sees, and which we haven’t told anyone, these confinements are much harder to overcome and take longer. These inner confinements can be anything. I know I used to have a very poor self image as I used to compare myself with able-bodied people all the time, wherever I was; in Bible College or in my volunteer job at 100 Huntley Street. While I was in Bible College, I kept seeing students start after me and graduate before me, which made me feel inadequate. Every time I compared myself, I did not stack up very well. I was slower and less productive than those around me. While I was going through this, the Lord brought someone very special into my life. “Dad” (as he came to be to me) would always tell me, “You cannot compare apples with oranges.” Dad poured unconditional love into my life as he could see the deep needs I had.  When we are willing to open up to someone trustworthy and pour out to them the deep hurts which have kept us in bondage for so many years, that may be the beginning of us finding freedom from the past. No matter how deeply you have been hurt, perhaps even physically, emotionally or verbally abused, and have kept these deep hurts to yourself, these things can prevent you from seeing life beyond the walls that surround you at this present moment. Again, allow me to give a personal example. After I had graduated from high school it felt like my life was over. The future looked like a blank wall in front of me. I felt very depressed, like my life had no purpose. I was so depressed; I remember saying to the Lord, “Father, if this is all there is to life after High School, then why did You allow me to be born?” This lasted for three years until I started Bible College. I finally felt like I had hope and purpose again.

Perhaps you are in that same situation. You feel hopeless and even depressed as all you see are the walls that surround you. Maybe you have even built-up walls of your own making to keep yourself from being hurt as you have been in the past. You are glad that you have those walls to hide behind. But you can find true freedom in Jesus Christ. He came and died a cruel death on the cross to set you free so you can truly live an abundant life. Jesus said, “I have come to give you life and to give it more abundantly.” (John 10:10). If you know Christ and are living in any kind of bondage, behind any walls, I urge you to find someone to confide in so you can experience freedom and start fulfilling God’s purposes for your life. Once we truly find inner freedom through Christ, there are no walls or limits that can keep us from fulfilling God’s purposes in our lives, no matter what kind of bondage we are in. Jesus also said, “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32).

Christ can break down any wall.