Why is it that the same situation can lead to two kinds of feelings? It is because we can have two moods. We can feel bored or released in response to the same meeting. Thus, the self is present in both the feeling of boredom and that of release. If you are depressed inside, you will feel that the meeting is low. If you are released, you will feel that the meeting is released. Where is the source of this state of being released or depressed? It is within you, and it depends on whether or not the Spirit of the Lord is free or restrained. If you do not let the Spirit of the Lord spread out of you, you will be restrained and depressed. Once this bondage is within you, your mind, emotion, and will are not at ease. Your mind, emotion, and will are not released and thus have no joy. The Lord is the Spirit, and the Spirit Himself is freedom. Thus, if you do not let the Spirit pass through you, surely you will not have freedom.
We all know that wherever there is a wind, it is cool. The wind brings in coolness. If several of us are sitting in a house, and if all the windows and doors are shut and the fan is broken, it will be very stuffy. However, if we open the doors and windows and repair the fan, then there will be a wind, and we will feel cool while sitting in the house. Coolness comes from the wind, and wherever there is a wind, it is cool. Thus, we can say that the wind is the coolness. Similarly, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. The Spirit of the Lord is the freedom. Thus, if you do not let the Spirit of the Lord have the ground in your mind, emotion, and will, one thing is certain—your mind, emotion, and will shall all be depressed. Christians who love to go to the movies and to go dancing may feel very comfortable when they see a movie or when they go to a dance. But when they get home afterward, the boredom and depression within them will deepen. Sometimes this feeling of boredom and depression will last for a few days.
For every Christian who loves the world, the more they love the world, the more they are bored within. For those who live according to themselves, the more they live this way, the more they are depressed within. Spiritual things are very real, and no one can cheat. The Holy Spirit in us has His own law, and this law is very real. If we love the Lord more and allow the Lord to overcome more in us, we will be released, free, and clear inside. Although there may be persecution or difficult environments outwardly, our mind, emotion, and will certainly will be open and free. This is because the Spirit is within us, and wherever the Spirit is, there is freedom. The Lord as the Spirit is the freedom. The three—the Lord, the Spirit, and freedom—are actually one.
The Lord is in us, and if we let Him move freely in us and obey Him more, He will have the ground and will expand in us. The Spirit of the Lord will also be able to operate, for the Lord is the Spirit. Once that Spirit operates, moves, and enters into our mind, our mind is free. When He enters into our emotion, our emotion is released. When He enters into our entire being, our entire being is released and free. For an example, there is a saint in the church life who is fresh and living. Twenty years ago he was fresh and living, and twenty years later he is still fresh and living. When you see him in Shanghai, he is fresh and living. When you see him in Hong Kong, he is fresh and living. And when you see him in Taiwan, he is still fresh and living. It seems that he has never been depressed. His secret is that his spirit is free and fresh. Once there is even a small amount of bondage in his spirit, he kneels down and prays to the Lord. He asks the Lord for forgiveness and the cleansing of His blood. His heart is always toward the Lord. Therefore, his spirit is free. Once his spirit is free, he is free—his mind, emotion, and will are all free.
Is this kind of person free from having any burdens, difficulties, or pain? If we were to ask him, he would tell us that his burdens, difficulties, and pain are by no means lighter than ours. The difference is that he always allows the Spirit to be free and endeavors to always keep his heart toward the Lord. Every time that a burden or a difficulty comes, he simply turns to the Lord and says to Him, “O Lord, I give this to You.” Satan does not stop working, so burdens and difficulties still come to him one after another, but he keeps turning to the Lord and saying to Him, “O Lord, I give this to You.” Again and again, he allows the Spirit to be free in this way. We should never say that we can sing praises to the Lord only when we do not have any difficulty or burden. Freedom depends upon the Spirit’s being able to spread out of us. The Spirit is in us, and in order for Him to spread out of us, our heart must be open. We should not be afraid of burdens and difficulties. When the burdens and difficulties come, we must turn our heart to the Lord. Regardless of what the environments may be, what troublesome matters there are, what the desires of our heart are, what decisions or determinations there are to be made, our heart must be open to the Lord. This is the secret.
In John 3:8, the Holy Spirit is likened to the wind, and everyone who is born of the Spirit is likened to the blowing wind. Once we open the windows, the wind comes into the house and fills it. Similarly, once our heart opens, the Spirit comes out and enters into our mind, emotion, and will. The Spirit is freedom, and where the Spirit is, there is freedom. Once the Spirit gets into our mind, emotion, and will, we are released, transcendent, and free. Outwardly the environment does not change, and we still have difficulties upon us. Yet our heart within us is full of freedom. There are many burdens upon us, yet our heart is released. This freedom, this release, is the Spirit. We all have had this kind of experience. We have difficulties, burdens, problems, and pains, yet whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the Spirit within us comes out and enters into our emotion, mind, and will, causing our entire being to be free and released.