2 minute read.
Daily Reading: Isaiah 30:12-33:9 ESV, Galatians 5:1-12 ESV, Psalm 63:1-11 ESV, Proverbs 23:22 ESV
Daily Verse: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1 ESV)
ELEUTHERIA (1657): “As a noun, means “liberty” and is so rendered in Gal 5:1, “in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.” The combination of the noun with the verb stresses the completeness of the act. Not to bring us into another form of bondage did Christ liberate us from that in which we were born, but in order to make us free from bondage.”[1]
Liberty.
Christ didn’t liberate us to bring us into another form of bondage but to set us completely free from all traps. Following Jesus takes us on a unique journey, revealing our hidden chains.
A popular Instagram meme of a horse tied to a plastic chair has a caption that reads, “Sometimes the thing that is holding you back is all in your head.” When we believe the lies, we become tethered to the plastic chair. Jesus unties us.
Revealed truth.
Applying Jesus’ teaching to our lives unties the invisible chains holding us captive. When we strive to become more like Christ, we realize quickly that distorted thinking binds us to plastic chairs.
When my parents moved us as a child, they didn’t include me in the decision. I internalized my exclusion in six words, “No one cares what I think.” Twelve when we moved, I formed my life around one distorted thought, applying it to all my relationships. As a result, I had unhealthy relationships.
But then Jesus revealed the truth to me through a series of unexpected events. In moments, Christ untethered me from the plastic chair by revealing the lie and helping me find freedom from the distorted thought.
Find freedom in Christ. Spend time seeking God through scripture and prayer, asking Him to show you the ties that bind you. Then, one by one, as you follow Jesus, let Him untie you from the plastic chair in your life. Complete freedom comes through Christ; in Him, you will find life to the fullest.
[1] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p.84) Thomas Nelson
