Broken Chains

"But today, Jeremiah, I'm setting you free, taking the chains off your hands. If you'd like to come to Babylon with me, come along. I'll take good care of you. But if you don't want to come to Babylon with me, that's just fine, too. Look, the whole land stretches out before you. Do what you like. Go and live wherever you wish. If you want to stay home, go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan. The king of Babylon made him governor of the cities of Judah. Stay with him and your people. Or go wherever you'd like. It's up to you."    

 (Jeremiah 40: 4-5, The Message)

Jeremiah was being held prisoner, but on this day, the captain of the bodyguard was setting him free.  "Go live wherever you like.  You're free!"    "Jeremiah was free to go anywhere.  In Babylon, he would have had great comfort and power.  In Judah, he would continue to face hardship.  In Babylon, Jeremiah would have been favored by the Babylonians, but hated by the Judean exiles.  In Judah, he would remain poor and unwanted, but the Judean remnant would know he was not a traitor.  Jeremiah returned to Judah."    (footnote from the Life Application Bible)

Even though the chains were broken off of Jeremiah, the choice to go to Judah was going to cause some hardships for him.  Jeremiah knew that was where he needed to go, in spite of the lures of Babylon.  Oftentimes, we are faced with decisions that would appear, by man's standards, easy to make.  The offer of a great job with a huge salary and benefits may be offered.  But, in return, it will require a lot of overtime and travel away from home.  Do you take it so your family can have more material things?  Or, do you refuse it so as not to jeopardize your marriage and home life?  Maybe God has set you free from addictions and bad home situations, but you still seem to want to be around those who  have a negative influence on you.  You're free to go live and do what you want.  Why are you choosing to still hang around?

Pray that God will give you the strength necessary to walk away from those things in your life that are pulling you away from God instead of drawing you closer to him.  Even though you may have to get out of your "comfort zone" or make some sacrifices, you will know, in the end, that you have found freedom---freedom in Christ!

"My chains are gone---I've been set free!"