The other day I saw an image of someone in a jail cell and the keys of the cell where right next to him. I thought to myself, “That’s odd why doesn’t he just open the door to the cell and walk out in freedom??? However, I think the way that man is living is the way many of us, myself included, live today.
It is so easy to live in an enslaved mindset. What we do not realize is that there’s a difference between deliverance and freedom. Jesus has already delivered us from our enemy, Satan and rescued us from death. He has met our greatest need. Jesus became sin himself so that we could be freedom. However, the difference between deliverance and freedom is that someone who is living in freedom doesn’t stay in an unlocked jail cell that’s wide open and they have been delivered from, but the person steps out of it and lives in complete freedom.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galations 5:1
Why do we walk around with the victim mindset, ready to brace ourselves for when challenging circumstances are thrown at us? You see, it’s really easy to live this way unintentionally. But here’s the thing, Jesus came so that you and I can have life and life abundantly. He doesn’t leave us in this trapped jail cell, but He became our keys to get out of the cell and leads us out of the state of fear and helplessness.
There is no fear in His perfect love. The power that raised Jesus from the grave lives inside of us. My friends, that’s a lot of power to waist walked around with a defeated mindset. The devil wants to make us thing that there’s no way out of our mess and that we are stuck in a pit of despair.
But here’s the good news, the Gospel. God is so gracious with us. We on our own cannot taste freedom. We deserve His wrath. We cannot get out of the jail cell by ourselves. However, God crushed His perfect Son in our place. But the good news doesn’t end there; Jesus rose again and gave us His Holy Spirit. He is faithful when we are not faithful. His covenant love overruns our dishonestly and faithlessness.
We are living, broken vessels for His kingdom. This is freedom. We don’t have to have it all together; Jesus knows we don’t. We just have to say “yes” to Him and abide in His love. The best part is that there is no striving in His love. Let’s rest in His perfect love where there’s riches forevermore.
I don’t know about you, but that ignites a fire in me to spread His good news.
I don’t know about you, but this makes me want to dance for joy.
I don’t know about you, but this makes me want to praise Him for all He has done.
When we truly grasp the reality of our sins and how we have no way of getting out of this jail cell and then in light of this, see the Gospel, our response is to worship God for all He has done.
Worship the God who makes beauty out of ashes.
Where our sins runs deep, His grace is deeper.
So right now, let's walk out of that open jail cell that Jesus unlocked so graciously for us and take His hand follow Him into freedom and abundant life.
Life is a gift, and the Giver is good.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
John 8:36 says, “whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”
That is you, my friend, let’s step into His gracious freedom.
