freedominChrist – Heather J Henson

Have you ever thought of yourself as noble? I did not, until one morning in May, 2026.

Soaking—resting—in the presence of our beloved Saviour and Lord, Jesus, just as you would also do at the start of each day before you’re properly awake, it felt like Holy Spirit inspired within me a question to ask of the Father.

‘Do you have a gift, a word, for today?’

I waited quietly, tuning my senses for the sound of His voice I love so much.

Noble.

‘Noble’, I echoed while quietly worshipping Him—gazing upon the wonder of His beautiful, life-giving, loving-kindness and grace!

Later, still in awe of the great I AM who gives us such wonderful transformational gifts, I remembered the words of 1 Peter 1:16; ‘Be holy as I am holy’. It seemed to me that His grace-word for me today was like that;

Beloved, be noble just as I am noble!

I knew His gift meant I would need to guard my heart attitude so that my thoughts and behaviour would reflect His nobility. I also remembered my Helper and Coach, the Spirit of Jesus, would eagerly be cheering me on!

Still meditating on noble the next day, I read, ‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things’. Philippians 4:8 NIV (emphasis mine)

During the coming week Holy Spirit opened up opportunities for me to share with others the same comfort I had first received, including a friend in need of encouragement. ‘Tell her about ‘noble’, I sensed.

My friend’s eyes widened in amazement before exclaiming, ‘I have an unusual second name. Patrice means noble! Not only that, but (my first name) means admirable’!

Beloved friends, how might the Lord need to transform your mind so that you see yourself more accurately reflected in the mirror of His glory and grace?

When we accept His gifts and let them become established within us as our true identity in Christ, we will carry them into the world, splashing all those whom we encounter with life-giving, transformational Living Water!

You are noble…

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.”

Photo credit: Frank Mckenna; published on Unsplash.

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