There are all kinds of Shackles. Manacles. Locks. Fetters. Handcuffs. Ropes. Restraints. Bonds. Chains.
“Surely We Do Not Have Any of These—-Shackles Surrounding Our Feet OR Binding Our Wrists, OR Tying Us Down, OR Keeping Us Captive”…….This is, at least,…what we may think.

We are free individuals, after all, adults who are masters of our days, keepers of our own calendars, holders of our own wallets; yes, most definitely, we are 100% FREE,…..But are we truly free of what shackles us?

• We have careers, and we are a faithful employee;
• We are community-minded, and we have a place we serve on this board or that committee;
• We attend this church or that church, and we are busily doing our part because we belong there–at that church;
• We are family-minded, and we take care of those we have been given to us to love;
• We do not have too many bad habits, too many “skeletons” rattling around in our closet, or so we think;
• We have people who wish to meet with us, eat with us, share time with us, and be with us;  &
• We like ourselves, even though (we might agree) there are certain character qualities we would change.

Truly, we are not half-bad, Yes. We are truly free of those prisons that fasten us tight….Aren’t We?

There are all kinds of shackles…..so many types, that keep us locked up, bound within, held tightly, and we freely CHOOSE to wear these shackles every day when we arise from our beds. In fact, we may find that we place the shackles—first—upon our bodies whenever we arise from our night’s slumber. Let me explain through a story of a wonderful lady I met.

A month ago, when delivering meals on a Wednesday evening after work, I met a woman, a person of great character.  When I first met this precious lady, she did not know who I was or even why I was knocking on her door.  That particular day, she revealed so much to me as I kneeled down on the floor near her chair. I wanted her to see me and I wished for her to hear my voice.  That night, I stepped into her home, shackled within my thoughts, secure in who I was as a person, but last night (after two months away, after two months of not visiting this particular home/person), when I departed from her home, I left behind a shackle she willingly offered to keep for me. You see, this beautiful 96-year-old lady, elderly by most standards, is a person who exudes great wisdom, and last night, she taught me a great truth as I knelt down by her chair.

When I visited her, that night long ago, we spoke of her children, her deceased husband, her grandchildren, her church, and of so many other topics.  We connected in many ways.  For months, I had wished to return, but every week, others arrived at church, earlier than I, so they enjoyed the pleasure of visiting with this wise woman.
Last night provided me an opportunity to return to her home, to hear her voice, to kneel at her feet near her recliner, and to be taught.

There are so many kinds of shackles, yes; some we wear as a badge of courage, some we cover as we pull down our sleeves to hide, and some we stumble along with, as we attempt to walk while they bind our legs and feet.

There are so many shackles.

YET, there is Only One Shackle Remover, a single God Who Holds All The Keys.

Maybe we know Him; Maybe we recognize His voice when He speaks; Maybe we seek to know Him more and more; Maybe we call ourselves His;  &  Maybe (even though we are His) we walk through this earthly life—imprisoned.

How could we be shackled and still be who we think we are (to ourself and to this world)?
That’s where the wisdom of this precious lady marches in—-teaching me and teaching us today.

Last evening after a lengthy visit, one where my knees began to ache (from the time I had knelt on the floor, near her chair), I prepared to make my exit, to say goodbye, to pray and to take my leave.  However, in those final moments, she taught me a great truth about a shackle I continually wore.
There are so many ways we can learn, seasons of life where we are taught, and I learned a valuable lesson from this woman of 96.  I learned the way to throw off my shackle of desired youthfulness and to live long.
Now, if you know me, then you know some key details about me—-DETAILS LIKE—-I plan to live until the age of 103. & I pride myself in being strong and healthy. & I hope to work until I am 87-years-old.

Last night, she taught me how to successfully reach these life-goals and how to reach them while I lived minus one shackle I had so willingly placed upon my body.
“Some people ask me how I have lived so long,” she said during our final moments together.  “That’s easy,” she continued. “I believed the Word of God, all of it, and the Bible tells us to honor our parents.”
She spoke truth. &  She spoke God’s Word over me last night. This morning, I slept until my husband’s alarm sounded, and I immediately wanted to find the verse she spoke to me last evening.

“Children, obey your parents in the LORD, for this is right. 
HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise),
SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH”  (Ephesians 6: 1-3).

• SHACKLES.—–Some Examples to Consider
• Something we carry.
• Some secret we keep.
• A habit we cannot seem to break.
• Personal goals that consume our wakefulness and our nightly slumber. 
• Riches we strive to make.
• People we wish to collect.
• Objects that we desire more and more.
• Thoughts we store up (physically, as well as emotionally).
• Salaries and Bank Accounts we strive to secure.
• Education and Training we seek to reach.
• Stockpiles.  Skills. Concessions We Make.  Excuses We Claim (for our actions).
• Shackles We (Secretly) Wear.

God Knows Us, whether we have given Him our heart or whether we have not yet trusted Him at His Word.
God Does…..Know Each of Us  &  God Owns It All.
God does not really have a need for us….to do anything for Him.
“For every beast of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is Mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the world is Mine, and all it contains”  (Psalm 50:  10-12).

So, let us not shackle ourselves. 
And, let us not try to rob God of His place, of His position of power.
Let us not try to lie to God about who we are.
And, let us not try to BE more than we are, because……

We now recognize that the LORD GOD Is 100% In Control of EVERYTHING, including me….& including all of us.

We can recognize that reaching longevity (found in this earthly life by doing our own things, by following our own thoughts, by striving to Be All We Can Be) IS NOT HOW WE SHOULD LIVE….Because

We can strive (starting today) to reach longevity of life, by following God’s Word spoken through teachers (like through the words spoken by a beautiful godly lady)….“By Honoring Our Parents.”

We can seek God This Day…..Asking Him to Help Us Become Released From all the Shackles…..We Have So Easily Placed Upon Our Lives.

Thank You, God for loving us.
Thank You, God, for loving us, just as we are…..unclean and shackled to life, as we are.
Free Us;  Yes, Free Us This Day….From our Shackles of greed, of discontentment, of selfish desires, & of anything we desire to obtain—more than YOU.