Your Day of Liberation!

Feel like the enemy has put chains around your life? Allow the Great Liberator to set you free, so you can fulfill your destiny.

If you look at Jesus’ earthly ministry, you can see how urgently He wanted to liberate others. Jesus had a keen understanding of what kept people in bondage. That’s why He did everything supernaturally possible to free them from their shackles and chains.

Even in the early stages of His ministry, Jesus didn’t waste any time laying out this theme of liberation for everything else He would do:

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:16-19).

Can you imagine a more powerful moment? Jesus was fueled and focused on freedom for the people. And here He is declaring His ministry in the synagogue itself. Hallelujah! Set the captives free!

The Son of God came with a powerful anointing to bring the resources of Heaven to earth. The poor would be delivered from poverty…the brokenhearted would be healed…the spiritual captives would be set free…the blind would receive their sight…and the oppressed would be liberated. Oh, how we need more of this kind of power today!

Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2, a popular Scripture passage His hearers recognized as describing the coming Messiah. It’s stunning to see that not much has changed among humankind since these words were written. People still need to be healed and set free from various kinds of oppression.

The next two verses, Isaiah 61:3-4, are also incredibly relevant to our world today:

To comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.

Take a moment to apply these wonderful words to your own life. Do you need to be comforted over some loss you’ve experienced? Has some area of your life turned to ashes, needing God to restore hope and beauty? Do you want to exchange your heaviness and depression for the oil of joy and the garment of praise?

This passage also speaks words of hope for our troubled cities today. In so many ways, our major urban areas are desolate and in ruins, and the devastation has been mounting for “many generations.” But it’s time for those of us who follow the Great Liberator to arise and bring healing and restoration to our communities. Since Jesus has liberated us, He can use us to liberate others.

The Jewish rabbis of Jesus’ day used to quote this same passage as if it were some faraway dream of a future world. But no one dared to make the claim Jesus was about to make:

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:20-21).

I absolutely love this part of the story. I meet so many church folks who tell me about the glorious days of revival and healing many decades ago. And others spend all their time thinking about some future day when Jesus will come back and take them to heaven. All of that is good, but what about today?!

For generations, the rabbis told endless stories about the miracles God did in Old Testament times, and they spoke glowingly about a future age when the Messiah would rule and reign. But they had nothing of substance to offer people in the present tense!

Think about your own life, my friend. Do you have a present-tense faith? The Bible is full of references to this:

“Now faith is…”  (Hebrews 11:1).

“Today, if you will hear His voice…” (Hebrews 3:7).

“Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

You see, if you’re ever going to break loose from the things holding you back, you will need a now kind of faith. Yesterday’s faith won’t do. Tomorrow’s faith hasn’t arrived yet. You need a powerful anointing of the Spirit of God today to break every yoke and chain that has kept you from fulfilling your destiny.

So go ahead and identify the area of your life where you need the Great Liberator to set you free. He can heal your sick body or your broken heart. He can replace fear, loneliness, and depression with His incredible love, joy, and peace.

What are you waiting for? He offers you everything you need today. Cry out to Him and listen for His instructions. This can be your day of liberation … so don’t let it slip by. Trust Him with everything and let Him transform you … heart, mind, and soul.