Breaking the Chains That Bind

"For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. I will set My tabernacle (My dwelling place) among you and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I AM the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright."
(Leviticus 26:9,11-13)

I love the imagery found in the last sentence: "I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright."

Can you see it? It is the slave set free! The chains of bondage broken by the power of Almighty God!

And the child of God? God's precious child walks upright, no longer bent over by the unbearable burdens of the world. Why? How can this be? Because our Father God has looked favorably upon us. He has entered into COVENANT with us - eternal relationship - because of His love. Why oh WHY would we want to go back to Egypt, the land of bondage, our life before Christ? Why?! We all struggle with this. Before now, we may not have understood it in terms of Egypt and Moses and God's deliverance. But, metaphorically, it is the same. Egypt calls to us from our past.

But, dear one, God has set us free!! No longer are we slaves to a fallen world. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. His promises made to His children in Leviticus are available to us today. We have been grafted in to the seed of Abraham through the Blood of Jesus.

Do you feel overwhelmed?
Do you feel as though you will suffocate from the stress of today's world?
Do past sins still haunt you and cast their stone of guilt on your new-found freedom?

Beloved, you have been set free by the Blood of Jesus. He has clothed you in the robe of righteousness, the garment of praise so that sin, no more, can have its evil way with you. You are in Covenant with Almighty God - you and the Lord belong to one another.

You need only to walk in His love. Take God's hand and walk upright in the power of the Holy Spirit. Walk upright in the knowledge that you are a child of the Most High God. You ARE somebody!! Not because of who you are but because of Whose you are.

And see the image of the chains that bind you, the yoke that burdens you, falling away and setting you free.

All because of Love.

Lord, You are awesome! Your love and Your power continues to amaze me as I consider Your ways. Thank You for making a way for Your children to walk in freedom. Forgive us for the times we are tempted to return to Egypt because of the deception in our hearts. How could we so easily forget the goodness of the Lord? How could we think that chains of bondage are better than the freedom we have in Christ? Father, forgive us! Forgive us for hurting You and for not appreciating Your freedom. We love You, Lord. Your longsuffering means a lot to us!