Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
bound in affliction and irons— Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He has broken the gates of bronze,
and cut the bars of iron in two.
Psalm 107:10 & 13-16
Living outside of God's will can feel like a prison,especially when it leads to addictions and patterns of behavior that we can't seem to shake. On our own strength we, like Paul, may find ourselves repeatedly doing the things we swore we wouldn't do anymore, the things we hate, the things we know are wrong, while failing to do what we know is right.
But we have something more than our own strength. We have God's assurance that He is able to break down the gates of our prison, to cut the bars that keep us in two and to unshackle our chains. We can call out to Him when we need to escape our bondage. We don't have to get cleaned up before we turn to God. We don't have to start doing what is right before we get His help in doing what is right. We don't have to free ourselves. No matter how many times we have tried and failed to stop our addictions, bad habits and poor decisions, no matter how many times we have quit even trying to stop and just went with the flow of old behavior that we were just too tired to fight and even somewhat enjoyed, He can turn and will set us free when we turn to Him in surrender.
Today let us remember that our freedom is in Christ and not our will, determination or strength.
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