Shackled Again

Did you know it became a law in 600 BC that no Hebrew could enslave another? Makes sense, considering their ancestors had been slaves in Egypt. It didn't last long, though. Pretty soon, the desire to have slaves became too great to resist.

Reading this made me wonder how many “slaves” I’ve set free as a Christian, only to take them back. Things that once shackled me such as fear, anxiety, worry. Maybe pride, envy, or unjustified anger? I think I can do without them for a while, but pretty soon old habits make me want to snatch them back from the cross and claim them once again.

We are told by Paul that if we believe in Christ we will be truly free (Romans 8:2). And yet, my humanity keeps wanting to chain me to sin. Instead of trusting in God and resting in His love, I pull on my chains of worry and lock myself down in anxious, sleepless nights. Instead of thanking Him for His blessing, I find myself mumbling why I can’t have the beauty of so and so or the income of whosit.

Click the shackles. Padlock the chains. I’m enslaved once again. I fight to get free, but deep down I know only One Person can set me loose. I cannot do it on my own strength. Again, I realize how much I need a Savior.

If this sounds like you, will you join me in surrendering to the One who can truly set us free?

Precious Lord, forgive me when I want to enslave myself once again to sin. It is like nailing you to the cross all over again. Yet I know you died for each of my sins, past, present, and future. Thank you for that, Lord. Set me free, again. Amen.

Go Deeper — Cut out strips of paper and write your “slaves” on them. Staple one end to the other, making a circle. Next, weave the next one through and staple its ends together, making links in a chain. Now, present them to Christ and as you do, rip them apart and throw them away.