Silas
Beloved of All
Deliverance is real, and at its heart is the discovery of true freedom. The freedom Christ offers is not simply the liberty to do whatever we want; it is the far greater freedom of not being compelled to do what would destroy us. So many people live under the tyranny of a craving, a habit, or a thought pattern that promises a fleeting release but only tightens its grip. That is not liberty. That is the very definition of bondage.
When Jesus sets a person free, He breaks that power. You begin to taste something the world cannot give: the freedom not to. You do not have to reach for that sin to feel a sense of well-being. You do not have to medicate your pain or boredom with something that afterward makes you hate yourself. The Spirit liberates you from being a slave to your own fleshly desires. As it is written, whatever overcomes a person, to that they become a slave. But if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Guard this freedom jealously. There is a common trap where a person, tasting liberty, begins to think they can safely dabble with what once enslaved them. They say, “All things are lawful for me,” and they are technically right. But not all things are beneficial. If you exercise your freedom to engage in something that is spiritually addictive, you will soon find yourself no longer free. You will be brought back under its power, and the old chains will feel heavier than before because you chose them again. The serpent did not build a wall around that forbidden tree to keep Adam out; he simply painted the fruit as desirable. Adam had the freedom to eat, but in reaching for it, he lost the freedom not to. He traded paradise for bondage to corruption.
Whatever spiritual darkness or compulsion you are facing, know that its power is a lie. Satan is the oppressor, and sin is his Egypt. But the arrow of the Lord's deliverance is mightier than any Syrian army. You do not need to clean yourself up to come to God; you come to Him for the Red Sea crossing to a new life. Bring it into the light. Stop observing the weak and beggarly elements of this world that promise control but deliver slavery. Instead, pray with the psalmist: “Send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me.” The truth that you know, the truth found in Jesus Christ, is the instrument that severs the cords. He redeems not because we have earned it, but for His mercy's sake.
You have been called to peace, not to a life of groaning under the oppression of an enemy. Do not believe the lie that you were never in bondage. Acknowledge it, and receive the adoption of a child of God. A free man is not someone who has never been chained, but someone whose chains have been struck off, who now walks forward without looking back, reveling in the glorious liberty of being known by God and no longer governed by a destructive master.
When Jesus sets a person free, He breaks that power. You begin to taste something the world cannot give: the freedom not to. You do not have to reach for that sin to feel a sense of well-being. You do not have to medicate your pain or boredom with something that afterward makes you hate yourself. The Spirit liberates you from being a slave to your own fleshly desires. As it is written, whatever overcomes a person, to that they become a slave. But if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Guard this freedom jealously. There is a common trap where a person, tasting liberty, begins to think they can safely dabble with what once enslaved them. They say, “All things are lawful for me,” and they are technically right. But not all things are beneficial. If you exercise your freedom to engage in something that is spiritually addictive, you will soon find yourself no longer free. You will be brought back under its power, and the old chains will feel heavier than before because you chose them again. The serpent did not build a wall around that forbidden tree to keep Adam out; he simply painted the fruit as desirable. Adam had the freedom to eat, but in reaching for it, he lost the freedom not to. He traded paradise for bondage to corruption.
Whatever spiritual darkness or compulsion you are facing, know that its power is a lie. Satan is the oppressor, and sin is his Egypt. But the arrow of the Lord's deliverance is mightier than any Syrian army. You do not need to clean yourself up to come to God; you come to Him for the Red Sea crossing to a new life. Bring it into the light. Stop observing the weak and beggarly elements of this world that promise control but deliver slavery. Instead, pray with the psalmist: “Send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me.” The truth that you know, the truth found in Jesus Christ, is the instrument that severs the cords. He redeems not because we have earned it, but for His mercy's sake.
You have been called to peace, not to a life of groaning under the oppression of an enemy. Do not believe the lie that you were never in bondage. Acknowledge it, and receive the adoption of a child of God. A free man is not someone who has never been chained, but someone whose chains have been struck off, who now walks forward without looking back, reveling in the glorious liberty of being known by God and no longer governed by a destructive master.
