Why is it so hard to get unstuck? Why do our best intentions turn into our biggest failures? Why do we keep making ungodly, unhealthy, or unhelpful choices? We want to break free, but instead, we stay stuck in a pattern of regret, repent, and repeat!
When you surrendered your life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit moved in and the battle between the Spirit and the flesh began. Suddenly your old, familiar choices started to bother you because you could see them more clearly as sin. You want to do things differently, but you’re stuck!
I have discovered this principle of life – that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 7:21-25 NLT
In the story of the Exodus, we see that the Israelites were stuck, too! And they had been for a long time. Their slavery was physical, and their master was Egypt, but ultimately, they had the same enemy we do. The devil’s plan for God’s people then is the same for God’s people today – to keep us stuck so we never find freedom.
How does the enemy keep us stuck?
He convinces us there’s no other way because this is the way it’s always been.
For generations, the Israelites accepted their captivity in Egypt as their reality because they didn’t know anything else. They had forgotten the promise God made their forefathers and settled into slavery instead of going after freedom. We do the same thing when we cling to our strongholds because we can’t picture life without them. We stay stuck because it’s familiar and we accept it as our reality.
He convinces us we are powerless to make any changes.
The Israelites had been beaten into submission by the Pharoah and the people of Egypt and despite their numbers, they did not believe they could rise up and win. Like the Israelites, we are broken down by our addictions, wrong thinking, or any stronghold that holds us captive. Over time, we come to believe that we are powerless to break free.
Both tactics are lies that must be replaced with truth!
The Israelites had a promise waiting and a powerful God ready to rescue them. So do you! If you are a child of God, you are a new person in Christ. You do not have to stay stuck! You are more powerful than you think. You have the power of the Holy Spirit in you, and He will empower you to conquer your strongholds and find victory.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. – Ephesians 6:10-11 ESV
A child of God does not belong in captivity! God is ready to get you out of there if you turn to Him and follow His lead.
