Category: Life’s Lessons

Setting the Captives Free

On By Heather HensonIn Life's Lessons, Personal Reflections, Sharing from my Journal1 Comment

It was during an intentional time of soaking in the empowering, life-giving presence of God—Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit—when I saw the vision. 

I walked through the gates into what looked like a zoo, but it was not like a more modern zoo where animals are given first-class hospitality. No, this one reminded me of Melbourne’s zoo as it generally was back in the 1960’s and 70’s—concrete flooring with thick metal bars that made up the cages.

Walking closer to the cages, where I would’ve expected to see animals there were people! My heart, already feeling shocked, was breaking at the sight of men and women who were not only in the cages, they were on display. 

Though these men and women were in cages, I saw that they were not imprisoned. They were not locked in from the outside.

In the vision, I knew that the lives of these people were solely dependent on any food and water they were given; in fact, they had no expectation of anything good. It was like they believed they could not—must not—ask for more. 

The one redeeming feature of the zoo was the trees and bushes planted around the cages. I sensed that by an act of unbridled grace, loving mercy and beautiful compassion, the Lord had planted the foliage to give the gift of dignity and shelter to the people, until that day when they would walk free.

Now I saw that Jesus was with me. Our hearts were one as, together, we went from one cage to the next to set the people free. 

Jesus’ joy was a wonder to behold as He stood looking into each cage. Holding out His hand, His love and invitation to a lifestyle of freedom was like a lifeline alive with crackling electricity drawing each person toward Him. 

As men and women reached out to take Jesus’ hand, I saw the metal bars of the cages melt away. And the people were set free to emerge from their places of captivity! 

I sensed the Holy Spirit saying that people who have lived captive to lies, but have now been set free, must be taught to live freely. Living a freedom-in-Christ lifestyle is something we learn to do and practise as we trust the Lord and are carried, like the eagles, soaring high on the winds of the Spirit of God. 

Jesus seems to say to you and to me:

“I have come to set the captives free! Where My Spirit is, there IS freedom. Walk with Me and talk with Me and I will teach you to live in a lifestyle of freedom where trusting and obeying Me becomes the most natural thing you can do! In this lifestyle, there is a beautiful flow where the rhythm is in harmony with the Father’s heart. 

Don’t look up the mountains of life; instead, take My hand and together we will walk one step at a time. You have a choice—you always have a choice! Choose to live a lifestyle of freedom empowered and sustained by My Spirit—the Spirit of Truth. Choose freedom in Christ, beloved! Love and Truth are perfectly brought together in Me, the Word of God.” 

© Heather Henson 2024

Photo credit: Frank Mckenna; published on Unsplash.

Freedom is not a Number

On By Heather HensonIn Devotionals, Life's Lessons, Personal Reflections, Sharing from my Journal, Uncategorized7 Comments

Why do we let our ‘size’ define us? 

“I’m a size 12”, says she. “I’m a size 16”, says another with a sigh. With a note of triumph, the vivacious one declares, “I’m a size 8!” Yet another remains silent, looking down as if present in the conversation, but absent having withdrawn to the familiar place of shame that screamed at her, “Not good enough; you’ll never measure up!” 

I remember when…

Perhaps it was about twenty years ago when I was about to step on to the scales to do the daily ‘weigh-in’. In that moment, it was like an inner-audible voice spoke to me saying…

“What are you going to do with the number? 

I didn’t feel condemned or judged; instead, the words came like a gentle refreshing wind into my soul imparting life and love wrapped up in joy and peace. Recognising Jesus’ voice, I chose to stop. And I asked a question of my own; “What do you mean?” 

He spoke again with such wisdom and tender compassion that I felt seen, heard, understood and utterly loved. “Well, if it’s lower than you thought, you’ll be happy. If it’s higher than you expected, you’ll be sad.” 

Until that moment, I had no idea how much the numbers on a set of scales had taken me captive. 

But Jesus is fully able—and wants to—lead captives into freedom! 

He is the One who sets the prisoners free, but there are times when God’s Spirit must help us to see that we are captive to something and want to be free.

And today? I haven’t chosen to weigh myself since that day. Each time I felt tempted, I turned to Jesus, surrendering the desire to him. And in the moment of a big breath—in and out—peace and life-giving rest occupied more of my mind as I chose to trust Jesus that it would be okay. 

I remember when…

In the hormonal changes of my late forties, in the space of a few weeks, my internal alarm bells began ringing ever more loudly. I was watching the lower half of my body balloon as the medication the doctor prescribed me took effect. 

My altered body image was tormenting me in the room of my mind where anxiety and fear ruled. The shouting, judgmental, condemning and brutal voices were daily becoming louder, more strident and horribly vicious. 

One morning as I examined myself—yet again—in front of the bathroom mirror, I heard a very fearful, critical and self-loathing part of me. She had emerged out of hiding in the shadows long enough to accuse me. Feeling an increasing sense of dark despair, as if all hope was being flushed down the toilet, it was in that moment when I heard a different voice inviting my attention. 

The voice was gentle and strong. The words I heard were ushered in by an-other-worldly calm and hope—again, somehow audibly, but on the inside; “Heather, this is the way to be free. Every time you examine yourself like this, turn your eyes to look at Jesus instead.” 

At first it wasn’t easy. At all. Breaking negative habits is like that. At first, on the road to freedom in this area of my life, while standing in front of the mirror, I even held my face—to gently but firmly switch my focus away from myself on to Jesus. Other times, I needed to intentionally move away from the mirror because now I recognised the imminent danger I was facing. 

In my mind I could see the monster gleefully waiting to pounce and grab me and swallow me whole like a predatory dragon shaking me this way and that, all the time sneering, “I told you so!”

But God...

Each and every time I chose to let the Holy Spirit help me to refocus on Jesus rather than fixating on myself and the ‘problem’—it gradually became easier to breathe and really live! 

The freedom—in Jesus—came for me before the doctor telephoned to say there was a concern about the medication and I must stop taking it. 

I remember when…

The Spirit of God our beloved Father said to me, “Shame is not your friend.”

Shame is not your friend.

I did not feel condemned or judged. His words, and even the tone of his voice, changed everything. It felt like Jesus, kneeling in front of me, gently lifted my chin to help me look up into his eyes. 

And what did I see?

Come with me. 

When we look into the face of Jesus who is the exact representation of God’s being, you and I see that he has the kindest eyes that twinkle like diamonds shining in the light; like the way the water sparkles when the sun shines on the ocean! 

My precious friend, come close to God and he will draw near to you because he loves you so much!

It is man—people—who look at our outward appearance. God looks at your heart and mine and he who calls us to “Come to (be with) Jesus!” just as we are without one plea, will never ever turn anyone away. 

Your real God-given identity is not found in a number. 

Your identity is not defined by what the world demands you are or who you should be. 

Your true identity is found in Jesus Christ alone. 

So, come to Jesus in a posture of abandoned surrender. His lavish love and the gift of his amazing grace will wash you clean of the life-draining heavy weariness of endlessly striving to be right—to measure up and be acceptable.

The Spirit of Jesus will work a divine exchange transfusion in you—cleansing you of sin and despair—making you whole and healed and filled with hope and peace from the inside out.

Set free to follow Jesus!  

  1. Thanks Heather, this was such an important message for me to hear. The declaration of freedom that it proclaims is…

Transition

On By Heather HensonIn Life's Lessons, Personal ReflectionsLeave a comment

Where have I come from? Where am I now? Where am I going?

It’s been two years and seven months and twenty-nine days, but who’s counting?

It’s not that I haven’t been writing. It just didn’t make it on to my blog…

While living in Greece, I wrote a lot – journal entries, emails, messages, social media posts, newsletters. It was all personal work and necessary to keep the vital highways of communication open with our (my husband Ross and I) family, friends, and partnership support team. Added to this, there was my (volunteer) work of writing, compiling, proofreading and editing as a member of the Hellenic Ministries’ Media and Communications Team. Beyond all of it was the business of living in a cross-cultural context complete with learning a new language, adapting to driving on the ‘other’ side of the road / car, and moving apartments in Athens four times in two and a half years which also meant new shop, streets etc.

So that was Greece.

Now this is Australia.

Then there was Papua New Guinea.

When I scan memories of my 60-plus years of life, I see that transitions happened from early childhood with a frequency that didn’t allow any moss to gather under this rolling stone!

One evening during the three years my family and I lived in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the 1990s, I had a strong ‘aha’ moment. As if I was the first person to know this, I told Ross, “I don’t think Jesus likes our comfort zones!” We agreed to be watchful and prayerful in the hope of avoiding settling into those ‘familiar, safe, comfortable, confining and predictable’ zones in life where a dull, sleepy spirit might resist exploring an invitation…

In between living away from Australia during our years in PNG and Greece came a long list of international itinerant work-related and missional adventures. Ross and I travelled to destinations I had only dreamed about: Zambia, Hong Kong, Cambodia, China, Philippines, South Africa, Malaysia, Thailand and New Zealand.

It felt like I was on a fast-moving train that regularly paused at stations all called “Transition“.

The drama surrounding the move our family made to the PNG provincial capital of Mt Hagen after one year of life in the rural Baiyer Valley remains a strong memory. That transition, which came after months of serious law and order problems (23 people were killed around us in tribal conflicts), culminated in a third armed ‘hold-up’. This time it wasn’t Ross in the middle of it all – it was our six year-old son and I. This distressing situation was not what any mother would knowingly choose for her son. But Jesus, our redemptive God, had the final amazing word. But that’s a story for another time… 

How am I going to land this plane?

Transitions of all sorts have come and gone in my life, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s this: they will come again. How do I make sense of them? How do I live, and thrive, while I’m in the uncertainty and stress of transition?

Jesus is the answer! Our heavenly Father has promised that the Spirit of Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5b) There is no good reason why we have to make our way through life on our own, or on our own terms. The ‘Ancient of Days’ (see Daniel 7) always keeps His promises. After all, He is the Truth, so it is impossible for Him to lie. Jesus is a proven help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1), something which I continue to experience as I abide in His empowering Presence.

In a life-changing experiential encounter with Jesus in 2002, words that came to mind opened up a new space in my heart that I’ve been exploring with the help and guidance of His Spirit ever since.

“Think of the highest mountain you can!”

Going to my memories of PNG, I was just about to look up at the huge mountains that had made the little aeroplane in which I was a passenger seem even smaller when the Spirit of Jesus spoke again…

“But don’t look up. It’s too high. Take My hand, and we’ll walk one step at a time.”

More than a decade later, I was in a much larger aircraft flying at high altitude when these words came to mind as I focused my mind on to Jesus: “In every footstep of Jesus, there is so much to explore.“

In every footstep of Jesus, there is so much to explore.

A transition might be just a word that describes the process of exploring the adventure of moving from one divine footstep into another.

I know where I have come from. I know where I am now. I don’t know what lies ahead of me, but I do know the One who holds me secure in the uncertainty. I can choose to keep hold of my heavenly Daddy’s hand (agree with and yield to God’s wisdom and will) freely extended to me by His grace with such love, always confident that He knows the way forward – one step at a time – viewed through the lens of eternity spread out before Him!

Points to consider:

  • Do you fear change and transition? Why?
  • Some of my transitions have been rougher than others. The smoother ones have come as I have connected with, and being surrounded by, a supportive and loving community, including the help of a professional counsellor.
  • You and I won’t usually know what is around a corner on the path of life, but God knows it all. And in Jesus Christ, we are secure. Turning to He who is Love – choosing to focus on Jesus and coming close to Him – gives me the freedom to explore life with joy, and in peace.

The path

On By Heather HensonIn Devotionals, Life's Lessons, Personal Reflections2 Comments

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Imagine with me for a moment as together, we stand on the path…

Look! I see Jesus… He is standing there up ahead at the bend in the pathway! 

Of course Jesus has been with you all along! Did you know that? Or did you not recognise that it was Jesus who was with you all this time? Is it possible that you have been so intent on just getting to where you think you must be, that you paid no attention to Who it was that has been offering to equip you, help you and guide you on your journey in life?

Did you not know that if only you would come close to God, He promises to come close to you?

Or have you been so focused on the path itself—trying to work out how and where every part might fit in (does it even have a place?), that you lost sight of Jesus?

In perfect and loving harmony with God the Father, Jesus has not lost sight of you.

Did you notice the wonder and the beauty of the unfolding story contained within the path?

Did you see that even the smallest piece of rock has its own place and is held securely together in the cement?

Or did you think He did not care?

Did you think He did not treasure even the smallest part of your life that you thought would not matter? Did you think He was just watching—from a distance? 

You are loved by the Father-heart of God! He sees you. He knows you. Intimately. 

The Father’s plans are all about Jesus. He loves you with the same love He has for His Son Jesus! There is no other pathway to God except through Jesus.

Beloved, just like every one of your tears and sorrows is lovingly, carefully collected and treasured in the heart of God, so has every one of the steps you have taken this far in life been lovingly, intentionally and creatively brought together.

It is all there and there is more yet to come! 

Worked together. Held together in the embrace of Jesus who is The Way. The Truth. The life!

It is the only wise thing we can do. Leave everything to be where Jesus is. Go where He is going. Choose to partner with His Spirit wholly surrendered to God’s plans!

It is all for the glory of our redemptive and sin-forgiving God who is love and has the gift of life to freely give and invites us to join Him!

Through Jesus. For the fame of the name of Jesus Christ!

By the way… did you notice in the picture that the day is drawing to a close? The mercies of God—who is I AM—are new every morning.

“… we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. God knew what he was doing from the very beginning.

He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.

After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself.

And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.” (Romans 8:28-30 The Message) 

What else might the Holy Spirit want to speak to you about or show you as you reflect on my photo (taken in Athens, Greece)?

I see something different every time.

I see that there are gum trees and I am comforted by the grace of my compassionate God who has transplanted me into another land and gives me visible memories of my home in Australia.

I see the dry ground scorched by the summer heat and am reminded that by God’s grace, I am like a tree planted along a riverbank—with roots that reach deep down into the water. Such a tree is not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. The leaves of such a tree stays green and never stops producing fruit. (Jeremiah 17:8 NLT—paraphrased)

God has so much to show you. Get your journal out. Take the time to be still with Jesus and listen to His Spirit and receive all that He has to give you. 

Peace. Hope. Freedom in Christ. Healing from the inside out.

To love God is to trust and obey.

All for Jesus!

Home

On By Heather HensonIn Life's Lessons, Personal Reflections, Uncategorized1 Comment

So I’ve been thinking about home a lot lately. But where is my home? Is my home in Eltham in Australia? Is it in Athens in Greece? Or is it found in all of the places in which I’ve lived during my 58 years of life? Maybe home is where I was born…

What does ‘home’ mean to you? It might be a haven of security and belonging that even now draws you back to an atmosphere wherein love, peace and rest prevail. On the other hand, it might be somewhere you dread being even in the distant shadowy memories of long ago years shoved away in a dusty ‘don’t go there’ room in your mind.

I need home to be a haven where I get to relax having tuned out the cacophony of the voices in the world all clamouring to exert their influence on my mind.

After a day spent navigating my way through life with its accompanying intersections each demanding a decision (which way is the right way?) or deciding what to do about the roadblocks, detours and confusing one-way streets where my forward momentum seems somehow even temporarily threatened… I just want to go home!

But what if ‘home’ no longer feels like home?

What do I do? Where do I go?

Maybe the better question is, “To whom do I turn?”. I discovered long ago that I am a traveller on a sojourn passing through this world with all of its brokenness and beauty…

My real home is in Jesus in the heart of God—the great I Am who asked me to call Him “Daddy”.

So it doesn’t matter where I am in the world when I practice resting back into His presence. It doesn’t matter who I’m with… or not with. It doesn’t matter whether the language is different. It doesn’t matter.

It’s in God where my place of security and belonging rests. The guarantee of an eternity lived ‘at home’—one with Jesus where I am forever healed, forever content, forever fulfilled and satisfied, forever tuned in to the sound of heaven—is the beloved Holy Spirit who made His home in me when He drew me to Jesus.

That day when I believed what I was hearing within the hidden depths of my being—that Jesus loved me and wanted to make His home in me—that day when I said “yes” was the day that I found out where my real, forever home is…

No matter where I am in the world.

Heather Henson

20th July 2017

 

Ross and me

Where?

On By Heather HensonIn Life's Lessons2 Comments

Have you ever wondered where all the people are going? Have you ever sat in the safety of your dwelling place and wondered…?

Here I am on ‘day 3’ in Greece—downtown Athens— and I’m wondering. How do I do life in this place mostly unfamiliar to me? The explorer in me is weary from all the preparations of just getting here. The courageous part in me wants to hide for a few minutes, maybe even a few days. The observer within me is watchful and alert, working hard to interpret and process all that I see around me through the lens of my personality and experience of life.

So many questions with an accompanying cacophony of emotions… What is happening around me? How do they do it? How do I do it? What do you call that? How much is that? Where does it go? What does that mean? What must I do? How do I ask for that?

I don’t fit in. Yet. Will I ever?

I witness the uninhibited joyful response of the woman behind the counter as I use her language to say “Thank you for your help” and I know I will keep going…

Life. It really is all about relationship and not so much about the task after all.

And I know I will explore—one step at a time. Where the people are. How they get there. Where they are going. I will join them on their journey even if my steps are a little tentative at first.

My dwelling place is a safe and secure one. In this place of belonging I am daily prepared and equipped for exploring the world around me.

I go out. I come back in. I go out… The very air I breathe—the very atmosphere in which I have my being—in this place I am utterly loved and accepted.

So I will remember to live and love well for life is not a guarantee but a gift. And I remember.

I follow Jesus and when I follow Jesus, life happens…

Man in alley

Perspective and life…

On By Heather HensonIn Devotionals, Life's Lessons, Personal ReflectionsLeave a comment

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Perspective is a funny thing.

Standing side by side, two people can look out on to the same scene—yet they can focus on two different points of view.

Same picture. Different perspective. 

I believe it is not possible to focus on two different things at exactly the same time—even though there might only be a fraction of a moment in time between moving one’s focus from one thing to another.

So, I wonder… In this picture of mine (taken in 2015 at a Morning Peninsula beach, in Australia), what do you see? What does the Spirit of Jesus Christ want to show you from the depths of the Father’s heart?

Some questions coming to my mind include…

Is my focus drawn to the approaching storm front? Or has the sun in the middle of the picture attracted my attention? Why?

Am I drawn to the lighter clouds dancing their way across the blue sky?

Is my focus drawn to the ocean? And why? What is it about the ocean?

I look at the picture where the sun is shining in the centre of it all and I remember…

I remember that God—my heavenly Daddy—powerful and gentle, righteous and holy, gracious and loving, kind and wise, the always-good Lord of Heavens’ Armies says, “Be still and know that I AM God.” (Read Psalm 46.)

I remember that even if the storm clouds come (and they do come), the sun will always be there—hidden but not gone. The light of the life of God’s one and only unique Son Jesus Christ—who exactly represents God—will never ever be extinguished by the darkness. Never. It is not possible.

I remember that the Spirit of Jesus will always be with me. Jesus did not return to heaven (to his Father) and leave me and you as orphans. He promises to always be our secure place of refuge. And it is impossible for God to lie. His promises are forever. His kingdom is unshakeable. 

I look at the picture and remember. Jesus Christ is, and must be, the centre of it all.

You might like to use the photograph and ask Jesus… “What do you have as a gift to give me from the Father’s heart—about life? From his perspective? For your sake.”

Yes… There might indeed be issues which we each see from a different perspective but… we must meet together in Jesus. And yes… We need the Holy Spirit to empower and help us be the sort of relational community where we are free to explore life together within the good and pleasant and secure boundaries of God—who is truth and love.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom… Freedom to be live the rich and satisfying life that Jesus came to lead us into. 

God calls us to be one—united in love in (and with) the Prince of Peace—by the power and work of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

For HIS glory!

That the world would know that God is good!

Second-hand Shoes

On By Heather HensonIn Devotionals, Life's Lessons, Monday Morning MinuteLeave a comment

The ‘year of the shoes’ stands out in my childhood memories. That year my mother passed on to me a secondhand pair of ‘Sunday-best’ shoes (‘hand-me-downs’) complete with the unspoken expectation that I would and could walk in someone else’s footprints. It was never going to work for me. Not only were the shoes too big for me but into them had been imprinted a legacy that did not fit me. Instead of taking delight in going to Sunday School, I became overly-conscious of my feet—anxious and fearful that I might fall down. I tried so hard to fit into those shoes…

Using this story (of the shoes) as a metaphor, have you ever been expected to walk in someone else’s ‘footprints’? What legacy has been handed on to you? Has it been a positive experience? Is it bearing good fruit? Have you been freely walking—taking delight in following Jesus—living the ‘rich and satisfying’ life that He came to lead us into? (John 10:10) Or… have you been so focused on maintaining your balance to avoid stumbling and falling down, that now you are beginning to recognise just how weary you have become?

Or was it you asking another person to accept something that no longer fits you or someone in your care? Maybe in that moment when you first tried to walk in those ‘shoes’ never designed with you in mind at all, you began looking around with a burning question in your mind, “Who can I pass this on to?” “How can I get rid of this…?”

What do you do with a legacy which you have inherited and are perhaps even now trying to operate under? What might be the expectations wrapped up in it? Has your identity been entangled or even somehow lost in it? How has your attitude—your stance in life—affected your behaviour? 

With the eyes of your heart (your mind), let God’s Spirit help you to re-focus on to Jesus. Who does God want to be for you? What does He need to do? Take courage! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there really is freedom. Is today the day the Lord has made for you to surrender to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit fit you with ‘shoes’ lovingly, wisely created by Him—tailor-made for you—with a Kingdom of God calling and purpose.

Our gracious, merciful and creative Father God calls you to trust Him and follow Jesus walking in His footsteps. His grace means that His Spirit will help you to do this daily. Your footprint is unique to  you as it is to every single person, but we each discover in Jesus, a perfect fit—the ‘sweet-spot’! Freedom in Christ!

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me (Jesus Christ). Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30 The Message —emphasis mine)

I wonder how God our Father through the work of His Spirit—the Spirit of Jesus Christ, plans to apply this in your life? Have a conversation with Him today. Ask questions. Be prepared to listen and watch for the answers…