Free Indeed!

 'Woman, you are set free from your infirmity. – Luke 13:12.

Are you living in bondage? Do you feel like your life is bound in chains by the evil spirit? If that's so, be encouraged, Jesus demonstrates to us in Luke 13:10-17 that He's rich in mercy and powerful to break chains that have bound us for so long. 

In Luke's gospel 13:10-17, as Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, there was a woman in attendance who had been crippled by the evil spirit for a period of eighteen years. The scriptures go on to say that 'she was bent over and could not straighten up.' For eighteen years, she was bent over, unable to straighten up, look up, or walk normally. She was restricted to looking down. 

Isn't that always the objective of the devil? To restrict us to only looking down, to only operate within the circles of addictions, doubt, anger, gambling, sin, debt, and resentment, so that we don't discover the gifts and power that God has put inside of us and live life to the fullest as God intended. Just like the woman in Luke's gospel, the devil has somehow bound us to chains and restricted us to lower levels.

You may have tried to break free on your own from whatever the devil has a grip on you, but failed to set yourself free. Every time you do your best to make a positive change in life, the forces of darkness push you back and end up right where you started. Sometimes we may be in bondage for far too long to the point where we've accepted it. Because the devil has his grip firmly on you, you then accept to live in fear, in addiction, anger, or in sin and letting it become your new normal. 

Friends, you don't have to live in limitation, bent over to the forces of darkness. The enemy's agenda is to kill and destroy, but Jesus came so that we could live life to the full. John 10:10 says, 'the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.' Living life to the full means that we've become fully aware of the treasures that God has placed in our hearts.

The woman in Luke's gospel couldn't live life to the full because the devil had restricted her with infirmity. While the devil is in the business of holding people captive, Jesus is in the business of setting us free, breaking chains of bondage and restoring those who are lost. 

Breaking free from the yoke of the devil may seem close to impossible. But there's hope of breaking free from your bondage. Jesus is your only hope of breaking the chains off you. You can call upon His name, and He'll do what you couldn't do on your own. He will set you free. John 8:36 says, 'If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that will set you and me free from the enemy's hands. What may look to be permanent and impossible to overcome, to God it is possible. In Jesus, we should set our confidence and our hope. 

In verse 12, we read, 'When Jesus saw her, he called her forward.' The enemy may have put a heavy yoke upon you to restrict you and to keep you under his control. But God sees what you are going through and what you are struggling with every day. Rather than trying to do it on your own, you can come to Jesus. Like what he did with the woman in Luke chapter 13, he called her forward to him. Jesus is the one whom we should all go to when we need chains of addiction, guilt, anger, lack, or generational curse broken; Jesus is the one to call. 

It is important to note that even before the woman is healed, Jesus first declares words of freedom, words of healing and restoration over the woman. Jesus said, 'Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.' Sometimes it is important to declare words of healing over our lives, even before the miracle happens. Rather than speaking negative words that pull us down based on our current circumstances (that's what the devil wants us to see), we need to see things through the eyes of faith – through Jesus' eyes, and declare it as if it were.

You may declare, 'I am free, I am healed, I am debt-free, I will lend and not borrow, I will be the head and not the tail. I am anointed. I am delivered.' 

I am glad that we serve God, who is rich in mercy and compassion. The LORD who shall set you free from the hands of the devil any day, any time and any second you decide to turn to Him for help. He won't check whether the day or time is convenient for you to be set free, like what the synagogue leaders did. God is merciful. 

Whatever it is that the devil may have held over your life to limit you, be sure of this: God is capable of setting you free and breaking all the chains of bondage. God still has the best plans for you. The devil may deceive you into believing that you've seen it all, that your best days are behind you. No. There's more good that awaits you when you choose to take that bold step to Jesus. He's the one who holds the power against all forces of darkness. Look to Jesus and call upon His name, and He'll set you free from the yoke of the enemy. Be blessed.