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Psalm 146:7 (NKJV) Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

Freedom to prisoners… there are lots of ways to be imprisoned. Financial stress, emotional distress, betrayal, hopelessness, disease, persecution – the iron bars of the mind can be even more destructive than physical bars.

Here’s the rub though: a lot of our prisons are of our own making. Bad decisions, sin, spiritual cowardice, emotional frailty… we’ve become a lukewarm, spoiled and wimpy lot for the most part. Much of our whining and oppression are due to fleshly expectations of an easy life and ever-increasing abundance. The only way out of that prison is to learn what true contentment is from Scripture, and mature your way spiritually to freedom.

Other types of imprisonment are outside of us and very real: sickness, disease, persecution, evil. The bad news is, there’s not a thing in the world we can do to avoid those. The good news is – FOR CHRISTIANS ONLY – is that God uses all our circumstances to bless us, grow us and bring us closer to Him. There is no circumstance or temptation the God does not provide the strength to endure.

For those, we are only imprisoned when we fail to let the Lord free us but the Lord can only free us when we humble ourselves and depend wholly on Him.

Think It Over: Are your oppressions and imprisonment because of your own choices (fleshly expectations that are not being met)? The Lord can free you from those by renewing your mind with His Word. Is your imprisonment from sickness, sin or evil? The Lord frees us by giving us hope, courage and strength.