"Been Set Free"

"The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free." (Psalms 105:20)
You know the story, it might be a simple illustration of Joseph being set free from prison by the highest ruler in the land; but you know me, I am always looking for something to chew on, something to make this real and meaningful to you and me. When it comes to spiritual matters of the heart, it is pretty easy to make almost any subject or character in the Bible fit into the relationship that we have with Jesus, our King and Redeemer. You know, we might be set free from sin, but we are bound in service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It just comes down to the fact that we will always serve someone; it's just how we have been made; if we are released from bondage to one thing, then we will attached ourselves to another. That is not necessarily a bad thing, not if you are bound to Jesus! The word 'sent' used in this verse is the same as the word used in verse 17: "He sent a man before them," which we know is speaking about how Joseph was sent into Egypt by the LORD to prepare a place for the rest of his family to come into. It is the same word used by Isaiah when he said, "Here am I; send me." I am sure we want to be well equipped with any task that we might be given; who wouldn't want to have the tools to do whatever it is they are called to do, without looking like a fool doing it? In that regard, the word 'loosed' is used as the start-up to the endeavor, which simply means that it is speaking about a prompting or the initiative to get something done. This is something I am sure that we are all familiar with, especially when it comes to starting something new, something you are excited about doing. Well, the biggest tool in our tool-chest is the will to get things done; which is what the Lord does in us; He gives us the will to serve Him. All we need to do is to show up, He does the rest; we just need to make ourselves available for Him to use, and He will use us. We don't even need a plan; we don't even need to idea; after all, it is His will and purposes that we are going to be doing, not our own. And then we have, "and let him go free." This is much more than just freedom, as in to let someone be free to walk or talk; this is about causing them to walk or talk, as in, to open up their mouth and make them speak, or to break out in dancing. Joseph was not set free to go wherever he wanted to go; to leave Egypt or to do whatever he wanted; he was set free to make something good happen and to preserve the children of Israel, each and every one of them. Do you think he realized that at the time? No, he most surely did not. But isn't that how the Lord works? He does not give us the whole plan all at once; He does not show us every step of the journey. That is what it means to be set free! It is not my worry, because it's not my plan; it is God's plan, so I have no worries...
"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me."
(Philippians 3:12) NLT