Imprisoned

Written by Donna Mitchell for The Life

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners….”– ISAIAH 61:1

LISTEN TO PODCAST:

We asked the prisoners to share what they longed for in one word. Their answer: “freedom.” You may be thinking, “Of course they did!” It wasn’t what you might assume — they didn’t ask for freedom from incarceration.The prisoners asked for true freedom — freedom from all the things that kept them captive. They longed for freedom from addiction, resentment, and unforgiveness. To be healed from trauma and to be forgiven by their families and victims. They asked for freedom to say no to what enslaved them, to be released from what bound them.We concluded that we have all spent time in a prison of some form because we’ve been held back from being or becoming all we are meant to be. We are in bondage to whatever controls us. True freedom is found in surrendering our lives to Christ, and by obeying Him and His teachings.

Jesus’ mission is foreshadowed in Isaiah 61:1-3. Jesus came to show the way to true freedom and to be the way to true freedom. He is the Good News. He is the One who binds up our broken hearts. He has the authority to forgive our sins because of His sacrifice on our behalf. He has the power to set us free from the real and imagined prisons that hold us captive. He sets us free — truly! — and He sends us with the same mission: to help people find true freedom.

Jesus, thank you for giving yourself as a sacrifice for our sin. Thank you for the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Lord, set us free from the things that have mastered us. Be our only Master and set us truly free in you. Amen.

Go Deeper — Read these definitions of “freedom” and ask the Lord to teach you about true freedom. May you walk into a level of freedom that you have never experienced!