Freedom That Travels With You
Quiet at the center, Jesus shaping my responses in a loud world.
Devotional Credit: Immeasurably More, Ray Stedman
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Some situations change slowly, and some never seem to move at all. This reading points me to a deeper freedom that is not chained to circumstances. Ray Stedman reminds us that the question is not first, can I get out of this, but rather, who am I in Jesus right now. Paul said you can be God’s free person in the very place that taxes you, because freedom starts on the inside.
He is not against stepping through an open door. If freedom is offered, take it. Yet the center of the message is this. Jesus gives a freedom that is portable. It goes where you go. It is not a violent program for tearing down every outward structure. It is the risen life of Jesus renewing you from the inside, so you can walk clean, honest, and steady in any setting.
That matters on ordinary days. Opinions press in. Trends shout. Expectations stack up. You and I can forget who we are, and we drift into serving human approval. This passage pulls us back to our true center. We were bought with a price. We belong to the Lord. We get to live as people already made alive together with Christ, not as people bargaining for scraps of worth from the crowd.
So today, we thank God for the freedom of being His in Christ. We acknowledge Stedman’s steady hand here. He points our eyes to the phrase, with God. Remain with God in the situation where you were called, and watch how Jesus expresses His life through you. That is where peace starts. That is where courage grows. That is where the chains begin to fall inside your chest, long before any doors swing open.
Journal Entry - Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I am with you in the setting where I called you, and I have not mislocated you. You were bought with a price. You are mine. Do not measure your liberty by the shape of your circumstances. Measure it by the life of my Son that I have placed within you.
I work in you to will and to act for my good pleasure. I set you apart as my dwelling. You are not a debtor to the flesh. Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God. Set your mind on the things above where your life is hidden with the Messiah, and from that fullness live.
Do not be conformed to this age. Present your ordinary moments to me, and I will renew your mind as you trust me. Where my Spirit is, there is freedom. Stand firm in the liberty for which Jesus has set you free. Use your freedom to love, not to chase human approval. You are my beloved, purchased, sealed, and supplied. Walk with me, and I will express the life of Jesus through you, right where you are.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of noise-canceling headphones on a busy commute. Engines rumble. Conversations buzz. Announcements blare. You tap one button, and the roar fades. The world does not go silent, but the noise loses its power over you. In the same way, the Holy Spirit within does not require your world to quiet down. He establishes a steady center in you, and from that quiet core Jesus acts through you with clarity and love, even while life hums around you.
Try this today in a specific moment. If a coworker criticizes you in a meeting, pause inside and surrender the moment to the Lord. Whisper in your heart, Lord, I trust you to live your life through me right now in this conversation, expressing your patience and truth. Then answer with calm honesty. No heat. No scramble. Let Jesus speak through you.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank you that I am your freed person in Jesus. Thank you that I was bought with a price and now belong to you. Thank you that your Spirit lives in me as a steady center, and that real freedom is already mine. I bless you that I am not a slave to opinions, pressure, or old patterns. In every room I enter today, I carry the life of Jesus within. I receive the day as your assignment, and I rest in the grace you have already given. Amen.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
1 Corinthians 7:21-24, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6-11, Romans 8:12-14, John 8:36, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:1, Colossians 3:1-4, Philippians 2:13, Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 1:3, 1 Peter 2:16