Day 11: Set Free

 Devotional: Applying the Bible to my today.

Read: Exodus 3:7-8 

By José Heredia

Freedom is something most of us value and strive for because it is seen as good, but without proper discernment and timing freedom can cause strife, hardships and can be downright devastating. For example, if we let murderers run free, that wouldn’t be good for many others. Consider the hardships freedom initially creates for someone released from years of imprisonment – it may be safer in prison if they were previously involved in gangs or dealing drugs, not to mention the difficulties in finding work, interacting with society and learning to deal with technology. Or if I let my one-year old daughter go free on the street, it wouldn’t be safe for her and I would lose my own freedom!

In Exodus 3, God was working out a plan to free the people of Israel from the rule of the Egyptians. God went to Moses and said, “I have come down to deliver them [the Israelites] from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” Even though they spent 40 years in the wilderness due to their fear and lack of faith, God’s intent was to set them free into a good land. God didn’t set His people free to wander in the wilderness. He set them free to experience something good. Because God is all-knowing and His love for each person on this earth runs so deep, we can be confident that the freedoms He has for us are always good.

Ultimately, God did this again when He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from our sin, and Romans 5:6 tells us that He did it at just the right time, while we were still powerless and hopeless. He came to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sin and set us free, into the promise of eternal life with Him. Freedom in Christ is not just about being able to leave behind sin and death, but it is also about looking forward to the day when we will see Him face to face.

We get to live in so many freedoms today because of the work Christ has done on our behalf, but today seems to have many uncertainties and things that may bring fears and anxiety. Let’s take a moment every day to thank the Lord, because even though we can only see what is happening today, we can be assured that one day all pain, suffering, and death will be gone. Then we will be set completely free into something good. We will be set free into His presence!

God, thank You for giving us a way to be set free from our sin through Jesus Christ. We look forward to the day when we get to see You face to face. Until that day, find us to be faithful workers and servants for Your Kingdom and for Your Glory. Amen.

Josè Heredia is the Worship Minister of Bay City Church in San Francisco, CA. Find out more about Josè and Bay City Church at www.baycity.church.