Listen to today’s devo!

[He] freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever. (Ps. 136:24)

Some months are harder than others. While teaching school, I had to be cautious to ration my money for the summer months. But even when we’re careful, unexpected expenses—medical bills, car trouble, broken appliances—can thwart our best budgeting plans. Have you ever been left comparing late fees, deciding which bill to let fall behind so that you could pay the others?

In many ancient cultures, the legal consequence for defaulting on a debt was to be enslaved by your creditor. You, and sometimes your family also, would provide manual labor to compensate for your financial debt. The only way to be freed from such enslavement was to be redeemed—someone else could pay off your debt so that you could go home free. 

Israel had been enslaved, with no power to free themselves, and God brought them out. Their captivity was physical, but there are other types of bondage. John 8:34 states, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” If we choose to allow sin in our lives, we acquire a debt we cannot repay and we bow to the wishes of an invisible taskmaster. Before Jesus, we were in the enemy’s hold, possessed by a slaveowner we could not escape. This is what it means to be lost. But Jesus has paid our debt and bought our freedom!

Ask God to give you freedom from any bondage that holds you. 

Debbie Shaw is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University and resides in North Carolina with her husband, Lee. She enjoys gardening, painting, reading, and coffee.

© 2021 Wesleyan Publishing House.  Reprinted from Light from the Word.  Used by permission.  Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.