Tethered

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

II Corinthians 3:17

Growing up in the 1960’s, every playground in Irondequoit, New York, had a tetherball pole: an eight foot steel pole with a seven foot chain or rope attached at the top with a ball attached to the end of that. The goal was to get the ball wrapped around the pole in your direction before your opponent did so in the other direction. And no matter how hard you hit the ball, it stayed attached, or more accurately tethered, to the end of the chain.

We too can find ourselves tethered to a life that is without joy, peace or fulfillment. Here are some areas that we can all too easily find ourselves tethered by:

• By the fear of failure or of not being good enough
• By fear of the future, and by the fear of man
• By wrong expectations put on us by ourselves and by others
• By guilt over things we’ve done in the past or by past failures
• By wrong assumptions about our own ability and potential
• By a wrong understanding of God and his working in our lives
• By sinful habits that have gotten control of us
• By attitudes that are negative and destructive

Far too often, I’ve seen good, sincere people try their best to go forward in their walk with the Lord only to hit the end of the tether rope, to get to that place where they need to experience the freedom that is promised in Jesus, “For whom the Son sets free is free indeed” and as we live in the Spirit, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” God wants to break the limitations of a life lived where these, and other areas, leave us tethered and bound. David wrote that “entrance of thy words bring light.” Reading God’s Word can make such a difference! Paul prayed that “the eyes of our understanding would be opened” to see not only the things holding us back and leaving us tethered, but the hope and power that are ours in Christ. And that too is my prayer for you this morning, that the Lord would allow you to see that He has more for your life, and that you’ll be untethered, set free to serve the Lord with a new joy, a new peace, and a renewed sense of his grace and mercy in each of our lives.

(And thanks to Cindy M. for encouraging me to start up sending out these devotions again!)

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church