'Say a Little Prayer'Намуна

DAY THREE: Liberation Is Here

Scripture: Daniel 6:10-23, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:1

The church was an important base for Aretha, and it was for me also. She started in the church and came back to it- full circle. 

In one of the first scenes in RESPECT, we see Aretha’s father preaching a fiery sermon on Daniel in the lion’s den.  As a parallel to the three times Daniel prayed, he repeats the word, “Freedom!” three times. This word offered hope to a weary congregation in the midst of fighting for Civil Rights. The cry for “Freedom” was a prayer for God to hear and deliver them from the den of oppression. 

Aretha also experienced a sort of bondage. The turmoil that had been her life kept her enclosed in pain. The terror of her past made her shut out the freedom that Christ offered her. Though she had experienced some growth, she still hadn’t completely healed. Painful memories were still getting in the way of her true liberation. And, like Daniel, God shows up again! 

Aretha’s “Freedom!” moment happens when she hears the comforting, grace-filled words of her longtime friend and choir director when, recalling the pain that she had been running from her whole life, he says to her, “You’ve got to give it to God.” Preach! It’s probably no accident this scene happened in a church, because that’s a sermon we all need to hear. 

In my own life, I have had trials and tribulations. Things that have been hard to let go of, things that have been hard to shake off and move past. But I keep coming back to this idea, to surrender it all. I am a beloved child of God. He can take all my baggage.

I’ve got to give it to God. You’ve got to give it to God. Thankfully, we’ve got a God to give it to!

For many of us, there are memories that we are holding onto, things from our pasts that keep us in the bondage of despair or anxiety. Can you name that “thing”?  What would it look like, feel like, be like for you to experience true freedom in Christ? 

Remember, Christ came so that we would have his freedom, his grace, his love. Christ came so that we would be liberated from fear, from shame, from whatever haunts our past. Christ came so that we would be free. Truly, deeply, and joyfully… free. That sounds good to me. How about you?

God’s invitation is to let go of what weighs us down… To surrender it all. 

Say this simple prayer – to yourself or shout it from the rooftop:

In the mighty, powerful, and liberating name Jesus Christ,

Freedom!

Freedom!

Freedom!

Amen.