Isaiah 52:2
“Rise from the dust, O Jerusalem. Sit in a place of honor. Remove the chains of slavery from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”
Beloved,
Chains can be broken and still be very present because we have yet to arise and do something about what God has already done for us.
One thing about deliverance is that it’s not, first of all, about the metaphorical chains on your hands. Let me share quickly with you a little story about an elephant. Once there was an elephant that had been captured and held in captivity for some time. As they held him, they chained him with the intention of training him to do some very specific things. They placed a chains on him, limiting the elephant’s movement until he had no choice but to comply with their training. While tied up, he could only walk a limited radius around a tree, lift what they wanted him to lift, and move as they wanted him to move. One day, the people who captured the elephant finally removed the rope. The elephant was now free to move about as he pleased. But did he? No. The elephant’s captors were contented to remove the rope from the elephant’s neck because they knew that elephant would not go past the radius that had been marked out for him. And that’s what happened. The elephant kept on walking in the same circle, lifting the same things, and carrying on with the same movements as he had when he was physically bound. The elephant’s mind had been programmed. It was still in chains and could not see that he was free. It’s never truly about the chains on your hands, but the ones that are on your mind.
Beloved, if God has delivered you, you can’t afford to keep living as if your past is as real as your glorious future. Wake up! The chains have been broken, lift up your head and move on with your life!
I commend you to God and to the word of His grace.
I call you NATIONS. I call you blessed.
