If you haven’t seen the iconic 1969 Woodstock performance of Richie Havens’ “Freedom,” I encourage you to watch it (link provided). This raw, emotional, and impromptu performance opened the historic festival. Havens was originally scheduled to perform later, but due to major delays and traffic jams, other artists couldn’t arrive on time. In a spontaneous act of service, Richie took the stage—and played for nearly three hours, ultimately improvising the now-legendary “Freedom.”
The song weaves in the haunting spiritual “Motherless Child,” a traditional African American lament of sorrow and separation.
“Sometimes I feel like a motherless child / A long way from my home…”
It’s a cry for liberation, belonging, and the ache of exile—all deeply human longings.
In many ways, this mirrors our own spiritual journey. We often find ourselves far from home—not in a physical sense, but disconnected from God. Pulled by the distractions of the world, shackled by ego, anxiety, addiction, fear—we begin to forget the way back.
But here’s the beautiful truth: God allows U-turns.
No matter how far we’ve wandered, no matter how long we’ve been gone, the path back to Him is never closed. Grace is not measured by time spent away—it’s offered in the instant we turn our hearts back toward home.
We tend to think of captivity as something imposed by others—by systems, circumstances, or people. But the deeper bondage often lies within. We are both the prisoner and the jailer—and within us also lies the key.
The Apostle Paul understood this well. Even while physically imprisoned, he was spiritually free:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers… will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:38-39)
Though chained, Paul knew no one could chain the Spirit within him. That is true freedom—the kind Richie Havens seemed to cry out for on that stage. Not just political or social freedom, but a release of the soul, a return to the One who calls us home.
Prayer
Father, thank You for the freedom that only You can give. When we feel lost, far from home, or shackled by our own thoughts and fears, remind us that Your grace is greater than our wandering. Help us to see that the key to freedom is already within us—Your Spirit dwelling in our hearts. Teach us to turn back to You, again and again, knowing nothing can separate us from Your love. Amen.
