May 5

Why Remain Captive

then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you. — Deut 30:3 BSB

God’s people can sometimes fall into captivity through sin. This is a bitter consequence of turning away from God. What a terrible bondage it is when a child of God falls into sin, becoming a slave to Satan, losing their freedom, losing their power in prayer, and losing the joy they once had in the Lord! We must guard against falling into such bondage, but if it has already happened, let’s not give up hope.

We can’t remain in slavery forever. Jesus paid too high a price for our redemption to leave us in the hands of the enemy. The way to freedom is to return to the Lord our God. We found salvation once, and we will find it again at the foot of the cross. Confess your sin, and you will find forgiveness and deliverance. The Lord wants us to obey His voice with all our heart and soul, and when we do, our captivity will come to an end.

Often, the weight of spiritual depression and misery lifts as soon as we abandon our idols and turn back in obedience to the living God. We don’t have to remain captives. We can quickly return to being citizens of Zion. Lord, set us free!