Furious Chapter 23 Devotional

Stay Free

There’s a funny video online of a sheep stuck deep in a narrow ditch. It’s hopelessly wedged in, unable to move. Then a shepherd shows up, climbs into the trench, and pulls the sheep to safety. The sheep is thrilled. It begins bounding in circles, energized and overjoyed. And then, in a moment that’s both hilarious and pathetic, it leaps and dives straight back into the very same trench.

That’s the picture Paul is painting here. We were stuck. Trapped in sin. Unable to rescue ourselves. Then Christ came. He entered our world, bore our burden, and set us free. Truly free.

But now Paul gives us a charge: stay free.

It’s not that we can save ourselves. Only Christ can do that. But we can return to bondage. Not because anyone forces us, but because we willingly go back. Like the sheep, we sometimes run straight into what we’ve just been rescued from.

For the Galatians, the danger was legalism. They were being told that Jesus wasn’t enough—that they needed to add rules and rituals to the finished work of Christ. Paul urges them not to trade freedom for slavery. Not to abandon grace for law.

We face the same danger today. It may not look like circumcision or ceremonial law, but the impulse is the same. We try to earn what has already been given. We fall back into shame, fear, striving, and self-effort.

Freedom in Christ isn’t fragile, but it must be guarded. Don’t jump back into the ditch you were rescued from. Jesus didn’t lift you out so you could crawl back in.

🔥 Reflection

Where are you tempted to return to old patterns? Are there habits, lies, or expectations that keep pulling you away from the freedom Christ purchased for you?

🙏 Prayer

Jesus, thank You for rescuing me. I could never free myself. Help me to walk in the freedom You’ve given, to stay rooted in grace, and to live each day in the joy of being Yours. Amen.

📣 Call-to-Action

Write down one area where you tend to fall back into performance or fear. Then write across it, “Christ has set me free.” Keep it where you can see it this week as a reminder: you don’t belong in the ditch. You belong to Him.