Daily Devotion - John 8:36 - Finding Freedom

Have you ever felt bound up by something?

It isn't fun. You are at the beck and call of whatever it is that owns you in that moment. You have to take another drink, smoke another cigarette, pull that slot lever one more time. The list is extensive, and the result is expensive. You know you should say no, and you want to quit, but something carnal inside is pulling you back to that next rush.

James, the brother of Jesus, puts it this way.

[James 1:14-15 ESV] 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

That desire inside of us was handed down from Adam and Eve, who decided they would pursue their own path to happiness and contentment. Instead, they only found strife and death. They were never fully satisfied again, and neither will we ever be satisfied apart from a life with Jesus.

We are designed - as the first couple was - to live a life in fellowship with God. Only when we live within that purpose will we be truly content and stop searching for meaning and happiness in the things the world has to offer.

Blaise Pascal says this.

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”

Pascal believed that only God can fill our souls completely, and He alone can free us from the addictions we have allowed ourselves to fall into.

[John 8:34-36 ESV] 34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Jesus here acknowledges that we have become slaves to sin, but offers us the freedom to step away from those things that hold us down to this world. He has broken the power of sin in our lives, restoring us to the fellowship that Adam and Eve were given before their rebellion. If we only ask, Christ will give us the ability to walk in the freedom he won for us.

Question to Consider

In what areas of my life am I still obeying the desires of my flesh?

Prayer for Today

Lord Jesus, You see me as I am. You know my heart better than I do. Show me now where I still cling to what the world offers and help me to put them away. Break the hold that my sin has on me so that I can undividedly pursue You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. Amen