July 19, 2025 Devo

Some time ago, I showed a video at church of some prisoners being baptized at a jail in Indiana. It’s an amazing story of how God is using this local congregation there to reach out to people that many have been forgotten or given up on. One man in particular in the story caught my attention. His name is Anthony Gann. He was in jail for drug use. Many others are there for the same reason. But Anthony has found a New Hope in his life. Not only has he found freedom from the bondage of drugs, but he’s also found purpose and meaning in his life. He’s currently leading worship for the prisoners during their weekly services. Watching this former addict sing the words, “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free,” sent tears running down my face. Though he was still going to be behind bars a few more months when they filmed it, he was living in a freedom that he’d only dreamed of before.
I thought of him as I read the last part of our verse for today. Maybe some of us could use these words as well. “He does not despise His imprisoned people.” Anybody out there stuck in a situation you can’t get out of? Anybody out there feeling “trapped?” Is there anybody reading this who is struggling under the bondage of addiction? Listen very carefully to this. God doesn’t despise you. He doesn’t think you're stupid, or weak, or that you’re getting exactly what you deserve. Yes, He knows that some of us are trapped because we made bad choices. But that doesn’t mean He’s abandoning us. Yes, He knows that some of us have continued to dig our hole deeper and deeper. That doesn’t mean He’s giving up on us. God knows that many of us hate ourselves because of this addiction we can’t seem to break. But HE doesn’t hate you. He loves you.
Jesus declared that He came to set prisoners free. That’s not just those prisoners “out there.” It’s we prisoners RIGHT HERE. What God did for Anthony, He can do for you! If you have a need today, I want to encourage you to come boldly before God. We’re ALL “the needy” in some form or fashion. God will hear your cry for help. He LOVES helping those who cannot help themselves. And if you feel imprisoned today…bound by fear, shackled by anxiety, trapped in an overwhelming situation, or wearing the chains of addiction, cry out to God. He won’t reject you. He doesn’t despise you. His arms are open to you. Lay your chains before Him and ask Him to set you free. You’ll discover what Moses and Joseph and Daniel and Paul and Silas and Peter and Anthony, and a host of others discovered: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM!” That’s God’s Word for you today.