October 28, 2025 Devo

One of the great dangers of being a “chosen” people in a fallen world is that it becomes easier and easier to look and act like the “fallen” rather than the “chosen.” That’s why God frequently reminded His people when they moved into new lands not to inter-marry or serve the gods of that land. He knew that it was always easier to conform to be like the people you're among than it was to stand out as the “peculiar people” He had called His people to be. It still is.
That’s what hit me as I read our verse today. The psalmist’s prayer is that God would save them from the bondage of those who have enslaved them. This could be a reference to when they were in exile, or it could have been one of the many times they were overrun by their enemies because of their disobedience. But I think there is a deeper message there. Because sometimes the bondage is not as much a physical one as it is a spiritual one.
I remember when I played basketball in high school, how much peer pressure there was to be “one of the guys.” Yes, I went to church and had committed my life to Christ. But there was still this pull to blend in. I wanted to dress like the cool guys dressed. I wanted to talk like the cool guys talked. I wanted to be accepted. I wanted to be liked. I wanted to fit in. So I lived in this tension of trying to squeeze my Christ-committed heart into a world-shaped mold. Eventually, God helped me understand the concept of being “in the world, but not of the world.” And that I wasn’t meant to fit in. I was meant to stand out.
In Matthew 5, Jesus says that we are the “light of the world.” That means that we aren’t meant to blend into the darkness of our culture. We are to live a different way. We are to live like Jesus did. The way Jesus lived stood out. The way Jesus helped the hurting stood out. The way Jesus couldn’t be bought, manipulated, or compromised stood out. His passion for God was obvious. His love for people was famous. His willingness not to seek power, but serve, shocked even those who were the closest to Him. He lived with an unshakable integrity, an outrageous graciousness, and an amazing humility. Jesus shone brightly because in all ways He reflected His Father. That’s what we are to do. Stop trying to fit in. Stand out. That’s God’s Word for you today.