“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” - John 8:36 (NIV).
Once two little children were out at play and found the rope they needed for a tug game had a knot. Much as they tried they just couldn’t figure out how to unloosen this knot. It was one huge puzzle that had them desperately sweating.
Eventually one decided to drop the rope with its knot and look for another game. But just then an idea brightened up with another. He picked up the rope with its knot, and looked for grandpa. See, it did not take seconds for grandpa to unloosen the knot once it was placed in his hands! The children, quite amazed; happily rushed back to play. Grandpa had all along been watching, standing in the shadow, and eager to help out.
Now, it is common to find knots in life. There can be knots found in one’s work or business, hindering any movement ahead. Much as one can try on one own the knot remains firm in place.
Knots can also bind life. Certain people have their lives tied up with knots that hinder them make progress. These could be knots of anger which has locked one down into a fuselage, quick to blow up at the slightest provocation. There can be knots of addiction that have made one’s life hopelessly enslaved. Some people are tied down with knots of jealousy which has blinded them to fail appreciate all the blessings in their lives.
Jesus often came across people whose life had been shriveled by knots. Once, while going about his work, there came a woman who “had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped” (Luke 8: 43-44). This woman pushed herself against a crowd and touched the cloak of Jesus. He stopped and turned to the woman who came down at his feet, “Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace” (vv 48).
Should you have noticed that you are dealing with a knot that seems against all effort not to go away, before you drop the rope, why not take it to Jesus. It can be amazing what seems impossible and has taken years troubling you, how the Lord can unlock it in a moment. All you need like the bleeding woman is have faith.
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I bring to you the knots in my life, that you unloosen and free me, to walk in your full blessings, this I pray in Jesus’s name.
Related upcoming events
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28/04/2024 - 29/04/2024 All day"The Lord is my shepherd!" (Psalm 23:1)
Psalm 23 of David is perhaps one of the best prayers ever written, with nuggets and inspirations, of benefit to us since and
ever before. “The LORD is my shepherd, “David begins.” I lack nothing” (vv 1). What is it that you lack? In his life David had started out as a shepherd, and he knew very well, that a shepherd’s job is to watch over his sheep, feed and water them, and since the Lord is our shepherd, we his sheep shall lack nothing.Verse 2 -3 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” This exactly what a good shepherd does; he takes his sheep to the best fodder, ensuring that his sheep are well fed and rested. When the sheep are restless the good shepherd is troubled. Our God desires and is pleased when we are at peace.
Sometimes we may all find ourselves going through a storm. In Verse 4- 5, David says, "Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The Christian life is not without difficulties, but here David points us to God as our comforter and deliverer. We always have the staff of prayer to lean on.
In Verse 5, he writes, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” In his tumultuous life, David had to battle with many enemies, ranging from King Saul, to foreigners and members of his own family. He knew a lot about betrayal. And, we too, may face enemies no less, from those that oppose us in our workplace for their ambition’s sake, to those who are not pleased because of the Gospel we preach. Yet here, just as David, we are assured that victory is on our side- this is why our cup overflows.
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (vv 6). The one who walks with God has a fresh smile ever, for God is with him. The blessings of God are with him wherever he goes.
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham,
maker of heaven and earth, as David prayed in Psalm 23, may I not be troubled, for you are my shepherd ever watching over me and your goodness goes ahead of me!
