September 21, 2022
Praying Friends,
Thank you for your prayers for revival and for our prodigals. As we continue to pray for God’s working in our lives and in the lives of others, we would like this devotional to be a source of encouragement for you.
There is a plethora of ideas surrounding the subject of freedom. George Orwell says, “Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” Some anonymous person said, “Freedom is being you, without anyone's permission.” Albert Camus made this observation: “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” Lastly, Wayne Dyer says, “Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life the way you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery.”
My personal opinion is that each of these quotes is missing the mark of what freedom really is. The book of Exodus, the second book in our Bible, helps us see freedom from God’s perspective and gives us a clear illustrative look at how we can enjoy it today.
The path of freedom points to worship. This is the ultimate end game of what freedom is all about. It is not living without boundaries. It is not doing everything that I want to do. It is not some utopian mindset of everyone floating around in lala land!
Genesis closes with God’s people in the land of Egypt. Joseph (through God’s enabling) had saved them from annihilation. They were growing in number. Then Joseph died and things turned ugly. They were brought into cruel slavery and bondage for 400 years (Genesis 15:13).
It all seemed quite hopeless, but God left them with a promise. Before dying, Joseph said, “God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Genesis 50:24).
When this slavery was at its worst, God spoke to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3. He showed Moses His glory and then commissioned him to lead His people out of slavery.
The message God gave to Egypt’s tyrant was clear. It expressed the essence of true freedom from God’s point of view. “This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son. I commanded you, ‘Let my son go, so he can worship me’” (Exodus 4:22-23). You can trace this very same statement repeated 6 times to the wicked king before it happened.
The path to freedom leads to worship. God desires His people to know Him, to serve Him, to love Him, and to exalt Him in every area and level of life. This is what freedom really is!
As for the storyline in Exodus, it was a long, arduous journey. Chapter 3:7-8 explains:
God saw their affliction
He heard their groaning
He knew their situation
And He was coming to their aid
It took 10 miraculous plagues to convince Egypt’s leader to let God’s people go. The glory of God was manifested on a global level. His wisdom, power, and authority were put on full display!
But deliverance from bondage takes more than power. It takes sacrifice!
A lamb had to die. In fact many lambs died that fateful night (Exodus 12). One for each individual household.
This is a beautiful picture of the one and only Lamb of God, our sacrifice for sin. He saw us. He heard our cries. He knew our need. And thankfully, He came down to where we were. The death of Jesus on the cross has cleansed us from sin and enables us to worship in freedom.
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
“Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God” (Hebrews 9:14).
The whole purpose of the Exodus was to bring them out in order to bring them in. God took them out of slavery with the purpose of bringing them close to Himself.
To summarize, in this journey to freedom, He defeated their oppressors, the Egyptians; He took His people through the depths of the Red Sea; He gave them passage through the wilderness; and He brought them to the mountain of God, to the place of worship.
This is the journey that God is bringing you on — from the bondage of sin to a place of intimacy and closeness with Him, from distance to nearness, from selfish living to God-centered living.
Today, He wants your heart! Today, He wants your full adoration! May God help each of you to continue on the path of freedom that leads to worship.
When this life is over and eternity begins, we will be forever with Him. The ultimate goal of freedom is to be in the presence of our God and Savior without a single sin to hinder our worship of Him. Then we will know freedom, life, and joy like we’ve never known before!
Love in Christ,
Bryan and Rachel