By Beryl Williams

Before I write my column, I will often look at the calendar to see what special days are in that month. This month, however, there was no need to do that.

On July 4, 1776, we declared that we were no longer going to accept the tyrannical rule and oppression from the king of Great Britain. We were going to take the control of our economy, our government and our freedom. You know the end of the story. We did succeed and became an independent nation. Due to that we have more freedom than any other country in the world and are richly blessed as well.

However, as I was contemplating all this, an interesting thought came to me. July 4^th is about fighting for our freedom from oppression by claiming our independence. Yet, freedom from true oppression, comes from dependence on Jesus Christ. There are so many forms of oppression that we experience in our times. We feel oppressed by the insanely fast pace of life that we now experience. The demands that are placed on us daily can cause feelings of being emotionally oppressed. We experience oppression from the Devil. In trying to “walk the walk”, we can experience oppression from the world around us.

Yet, we are told in His Word that if we depend on Him, we can experience true freedom from all forms of oppression in our lives. Here are just a few truths regarding the confidence we can have:

“When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.”  Psalm 94:18 

“When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place.” Psalm 118:5

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

“I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8 

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29

I can tell you from my own life experiences that the way to real freedom is, in fact, dependence on our Father. He gives me everything I need in much better ways than fighting for myself. We are all loved deeply by Him. Let us begin to depend on Him and see what wonders He will perform.

July 4^th is also my fiancé’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Stephen.  I love you!