“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.” John 10:9 (ESV)
You don’t need to be behind bars to be in prison. Why? Because the most common prison is in the mind.
A relationship can be a prison when it makes you feel trapped. Debt can be a suffocating prison that you don’t think you’ll ever escape. A tradition can be a prison because it confines you and doesn’t let you embrace the freedom God wants you to have. A painful memory can lock you behind steel doors of pain. Depression, fatigue, and shame can also be prisons.
The good news is that God wants to break you out!
God wants you to be free. When he opens doors, they’re pathways to something good. But before God can get you to where he wants you to go, he has to get you out of the prisons you’re in.
How does he do it?
First, he shakes things up. When Paul and his friends were in prison in Acts 16, God brought about an earthquake. Sometimes God has to shake your foundations—particularly your foundational beliefs—to get you out of prison, too. He’ll send an earthquake into your life to shake up those beliefs so you’re ready for the freedom he wants to give you.
Second, he plugs you into the power of the resurrection. That’s what Easter is all about. Jesus’ resurrection is the most powerful event in history. God makes that power available to you every day.
Paul says in Ephesians 1:19-20, “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (NLT).
The same power that opened Jesus’ tomb will open the prison doors that are holding you back. That’s real freedom! You just have to believe and trust God to provide for you in this way.
Over the next three days, I’ll share three specific ways that Jesus wants to bring you freedom.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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