Finding Freedom In Lockdown

During this crisis I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “we’re all in the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat.” It highlights the fact that this crisis is affecting us all but in different ways. The current lockdown has meant that a number of aspects of life as we knew it have been restricted so that we can protect and show love to others.

However, we do need to be aware that they are having a significant effect on so many, both practically and emotionally. Whether it be through loss of income, mental health challenges or not being able to see loved ones, the impact of lockdown is being felt.

I once chatted with a man called Sam* who had recently become a Christian in prison. Sam still had a fair bit of his sentence to serve. As he shared his experience of prison with me, he smiled and said, ​“You know what, I may not be free to be out there, but I am free in here,” as he pointed to his heart. Over years of prison ministry I’ve heard lots of people say the same, that even when they are not physically free they have still been able to experience God’s freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17 says: ​“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” God is passionate about freedom. Jesus died and was resurrected so that we could be free from sin, free to be who God created us to be, and free to spend an eternity with Him. This incredible truth means that even in lockdown, with restrictions in place, we can still experience God’s freedom – the freedom to love and be loved by our creator and the freedom to worship and praise Him.

We also have the freedom to love others well. As free people, Christians have the privilege of showing God’s freedom to a hurting world. The author Toni Morrison once said: ​“The function of freedom is to free someone else.” As people filled with the Holy Spirit, we are called to show the love and freedom of God to others. Even in lockdown we can love and support our neighbours, we can speak up for our sisters and brothers around the world who are persecuted for their faith, we can raise awareness of the millions trapped in slavery, we can pray for those in prison, and we can give to emergency appeals to support those who are worst affected in this crisis.

We don’t know how long these restrictions will be necessary, but even in challenging circumstances we can know the freedom that God gives us and play our part in ministering freedom to others.

*Name has been changed.

This article first appeared on the Evangelical Alliance website on 19th May 2020.

Catherine De Souza, 3rd June 2020