The following is a devotion from my message series 10 Steps to Freedom. I hope these devotionals help you experience lasting freedom in Jesus!

STEP ONE: day 1

Fill your soul with the hope of Jesus

Can I ever be free? That’s a question you have probably asked yourself more than once, in those dark, lonely moments when the shadow of despair seems to crush your soul and extinguish the light inside you. Can I ever be free? It’s a question you thought you answered the first time you tried to get clean, to sober up, to stop looking at those websites, to get your life in order. But now you’re not sure. You’ve lost track of how many times you’ve broken promises to God, to your family, to yourself. Last time was the final time, until it wasn’t, and now you’re not sure if you even have enough strength to make another soon-to-be broken promise to yourself. Hope seems to be snuffed out like a candle, leaving you in the pitch darkness of despair.

If that describes you or someone you love, you are not alone. Perhaps that’s who you used to be, maybe it even describes who you currently are, but it doesn’t describe who you can be. Can I ever be free? The answer to that is a life-changing and earth-shattering “Yes!” Freedom is something every person can experience through Jesus. No matter what your addiction, no matter how deep your hurt, no matter how long you’ve been enslaved, you can experience freedom, and these ten steps will point the way.

The first step to freedom starts with hope. Before you can be free, you need to believe you actually can be free. But not just any kind of hope will do. It’s hope in a specific person, the person who can actually set you free. You need to learn how to fill your soul with the hope of Jesus. It’s a step you don’t have to take alone. Let’s take it together!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. Have you (or someone you love) ever been at a place where everything felt hopeless? What caused you (or  your loved one) to get to such a dark place?

2. What is it that you want to be free from? What has kept you captive for too long?

You can read other devotional entries for 10 Steps to Freedom here.