Why Return to Shackles When You’ve Been Embraced?
Christ didn’t hand you the keys so you could push the car—He came to drive it from within.
Devotional Credit:
Day by Day by Grace – Bob Hoekstra
Photo Credit:
Unsplash
There’s a deep sorrow in Paul’s voice when he asks the Galatians why they would turn back to the very thing that once enslaved them. They had come to know God—and more importantly, had come to be known by Him. Yet, they drifted back into striving, back into rule-keeping, back into spiritual poverty. The law was never designed to breathe life into us. It only reveals the lack that grace fills.
We are justified not by performance, but by a Person—Jesus Christ. And the same grace that justifies us is the only power that sanctifies us. Trying to produce holiness through the law is like watering plastic plants: there’s no life there to nourish. We may dress it up as diligence or devotion, but if our confidence lies in outward observances—whether holy days, disciplines, or personal effort—we’ve quietly exchanged liberty for bondage.
God doesn’t desire our best efforts. He desires our trust. And the very Spirit who gave us new life continues to transform us as we rest in Christ’s life within. Celebrating spiritual milestones or days isn’t wrong in itself. But when we treat those observances as if they produce righteousness, we fall back under the law’s weight—trying to earn what was already freely given.
Today’s devotional reminds us to fix our eyes not on what we do for God, but on what He has done and continues to do in us. We’ve been rescued—why return to the prison cell?
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You are not under the law. I took you out of that covenant of shadows and placed you into the light of My Son. Why, beloved, would you stoop to gather up those broken chains again? You are no longer a slave, but a child—and if a child, then an heir. I did not just justify you and leave you to your own grit. I remain in you to will and to work according to My good pleasure.
You have already been made complete in Christ. My grace is not just enough for salvation—it is the very source of transformation. Return to grace. Yield to My life within. It is not holy days that sanctify you, but the Holy One living in you. Set your hope not on rituals, but on Me. Let Me express My patience, joy, and love through you—not as a list to check off, but as fruit born from abiding.
You don’t need to imitate life from the outside. You already possess the Life on the inside. Stay near. Stay yielded. I am not far off—I dwell in you. Don’t strive to make yourself clean. You are already washed, justified, and sanctified in the name of Jesus and by My Spirit. Rest in that. Walk in that. Live from that.
Scripture References:
Galatians 4:9–10; Galatians 2:16; Romans 14:5; Philippians 2:13; Romans 6:14; Galatians 3:3; Colossians 2:6–10; Romans 8:3–4; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 1:13–14; 2 Corinthians 3:5–6; Hebrews 10:10–14; Galatians 5:1
Real-Life Analogy
It’s like being handed the keys to a new car with a full tank of gas, but instead of driving it, you push it down the road in your own strength. The vehicle was designed to carry you—not the other way around. Returning to law-based striving after being given Spirit-empowered grace is just like that—exhausting and unnecessary.
Today, if you find yourself trying to push forward in your own effort—whether through performance, rigid disciplines, or guilt-driven service—pause. Trust the One who indwells you. Instead of laboring to “get it right,” turn to the Spirit and say, “Lord, I trust You to express Your patience and joy through me as I respond to this difficult situation.” Let Him carry you—He is the power source, not you.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that I don’t need to live under the crushing weight of rules and regulations. Thank You that in Christ, I’ve been made righteous and fully accepted. Your grace is enough—both to save me and to sanctify me. I trust the Spirit of Christ within me to bear fruit as I rest in Your sufficiency. I walk today not as a rule-follower, but as a dearly loved child—free, forgiven, and filled with Your very life. Amen.