Daily Devotional
Knowing Jesus is the Key to Freedom

August 23, 2023

Ponder This

Have you ever seen an elephant at the circus? That elephant will generally have an iron ring around one of his rear legs. That iron ring will have a chain that is fastened to a stake. That stake will be driven into the ground. That elephant will be there, rocking back and forth. Now here is the interesting thing. That stake is shallowly put in the ground. That elephant could pull it out at any time. But he never tries because he thinks he cannot. When he was a baby elephant, they trained him by putting a stake in the ground very deep and putting that chain around his leg, and he pulled and could not get free. And now as a grown elephant, he has been convinced that he cannot pull that stake from the ground, and he never tries.

There are some who have been trained by the devil in the same way. You don’t understand the power you have. And Satan’s got you chained by some little insignificant thing when God wants to set you free and make you what you ought to be. Freedom comes through the knowledge of Jesus. Jesus died for you, and grace comes through the knowledge of Jesus. The peace all of us need—the peace of God, peace with God, and peace with one another—and the power all of us need, come through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

• What does it look like to live in bondage to something?
• What has Jesus set you free from? Where are you still living in bondage unnecessarily?

Practice This

Share with another person what you have been set free from through Jesus.