Saint Patrick

Part 1

The month of March can be a long, wet month as the earth begins its transformation from winter to spring. It can, as the saying goes, "come in like a lion and (thankfully) out like a lamb". Perhaps that is why many look forward to March 17th when many celebrate Saint Patrick's Day.

There is good reason to celebrate the TRUTH of what we know about Saint Patrick. Legend and historical facts have become intertwined over the years, yet from information I can gather, he was surely used mightily to turn the nation of Ireland from idolatry to TRUTH. Let me share a few pieces of that information.

Patrick was the son of a nobleman who was captured by a band of pirates from his homeland in Britain and was taken to Ireland. Not unlike the story of Joseph in the scripture, he was sold into slavery. As with Joseph and true to His Word, the Lord never left or forsook Patrick (Hebrews 13:5). Patrick had a cruel master who was a pagan warlord. Yet, even at the young age of 16, TRUTH had been planted in his heart. Later in life he wrote of this time, "The love and the fear of God and faith increased so much, and the spirit of prayer so grew within me, that I often prayed a hundred times in the day....The Spirit was burning within me." Patrick so developed his personal relationship with God that he heard what the Spirit of the Lord was saying to him. One day he heard a voice in his dreams telling him, "Behold, the ship is ready for you." Patrick escaped and made a miraculous journey home.

Have you or someone you love been taken captive? Perhaps not sold into slavery as Joseph or Patrick, but held captive by a behavior pattern, a sin, that you/they just can't seem to break. What set Patrick free will set each of us free today. It is TRUTH. The TRUTH was planted in the heart of Patrick. It led him to his freedom. The Word of God tells us: "And you shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you free" (John 8:32). Patrick made a choice to believe that TRUTH. He did not allow his heart to harden and so he developed an ear to hear what the Spirit of God was saying to him. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal 5:16). I am sure he battled the thoughts in his mind. The enemy of our soul loves to deceive us and engage us in a battle in our mind. He wants us to think that we should rely on ourselves rather than the Word of God. That, my friend leads to nothing but a dead end or complete frustration.

Let me encourage you today to rely on God. Here is something I did long ago and I will invite you to do today. Get a small brown paper lunch bag. Write "GOD" on the bag in big letters. Keep it somewhere where you will see it. Next, write on pieces of paper those things you want to get free of. Put them into the bag and say "Dear God I turn my struggle with _______ over to You. I know You are the One Who can set me free, for You are the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall set me free. Thank you Lord, I will walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of my flesh by the power of Jesus name." You may need to say that prayer every morning for awhile. Little by little, day by day as you are faithful to turn your mind and will over to TRUTH you will have a testimony to share about how Jesus set you free.

Patricia Wenzel
WOC Graduate

Material taken from The Power of One Christ-Like Life by Francis Frangipane