Finding Freedom: How God Leads From Rescue to RestSample

Day 3: Preparing for Rescue

We all want freedom.

We want freedom from fear, addiction, bitterness, insecurity, or sin. But sometimes we stay stuck, not because God hasn’t moved, but because we haven’t. So, where do we get the strength we need to go forward?

Freedom doesn’t begin with our strength—it begins with God’s. When Israel cried out under Egyptian oppression, God heard. He saw. And He acted. But His rescue wasn’t passive for them—and it isn’t for us either.

Before sending the tenth and final plague that would finally break Pharaoh’s grip, God gave His people specific instructions: Take a lamb. Put its blood on your doorframe. Eat in haste. Be ready to move (Exodus 12). The miracle was God’s, but the obedience was theirs. If they ignored His command, they would have missed the rescue—and put their lives in danger.

God wasn’t just preparing them to be spared. He was preparing them to be free.

READ

Exodus 12:10–14 (NIV)

10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.
11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.
12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance.”

Notice how His instruction didn’t just involve being in the right position for the rescue, but also preparation to be led out of slavery into the freedom that was waiting.

REFLECT

• What did their immediate obedience involve?
• What actions prepared them to step into freedom?
• What future-looking instructions helped them continue living free?
• Why do you think God gave them all these directions at once?
• How might having the bigger picture change the way we walk in freedom?

God still saves, heals, and sets captives free—but we’re not just spectators. Too often, we ask God to rescue us, yet resist forgiving that person, confessing that sin, releasing that idol, or surrendering that fear. His grace delivers—but our response determines whether we live free. His rescue calls for readiness and for preparation. Jesus, the true Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), shed His blood to break sin’s power and open wide the door to freedom. But we must walk through it.

Paul reminds us in Galatians 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again…

Many of us, having already been set free in Christ, let ourselves be burdened again, leaving us still feeling captive. But the imperative is clear: DO NOT LET! We have a part to play in living in the land of the freedom Jesus secured. I know this all too well. How many times have I let the enemy twist and turn my thoughts, causing me to take my eyes from God; causing me to doubt the Lord and His goodness.

Let’s look at a man who needed rescue but who was not prepared for it – until Jesus found him lying hopeless by a public pool.

READ

John 5:1–9 (NIV, condensed)

5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him… he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool… Someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

REFLECT

• What was the man’s first response to Jesus’ question?
• How did Jesus move him past his excuses?
• How did that help him be ready at once to respond?
• What fears might he have faced in taking his first steps to stand firm after years of disappointment?

This man was crippled physically—but we can be crippled spiritually, emotionally and mentally, too. Habits, hurts, and hang-ups can paralyze us. The longer we live with bondage, the easier it becomes to make peace with it and stop hoping for freedom.

APPLY

• What excuses are you making for staying in bondage?
• If Jesus asked, “Do you want to be free?”—how would you show that you do?
• Where in your life are you waiting for God to act—but He’s already given you something to obey?
• What action might God be calling you to take today to prepare for freedom?
• If you’re seeking rescue, how are you getting ready for God to move?

Prayer Focus

Father God, we thank you so much for the opportunity that we have to be free in You. Lord, we know that freedom for us came at a cost for you and we stop – and we thank you. Thank you for the freedom that You provide for us. Thank you Lord that in our wilderness and in our journey to freedom we can trust that you are with us, that you see us and that you are fighting for us. We love you, Lord. Amen