Your Master?

What is it that you repeatedly and faithfully submit to in your life? Whatever it is, it rules your life. While you may declare Jesus as Lord of your life, if you faithfully and continually submit to other things, then those things truly rule your life. They become your Master.

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey” (Romans 6:16)?

In John 5, there’s a story about a man who was a slave to his circumstances. He had been lying by the Pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years because of a physical affliction. He, along with many other sick people, were waiting for an angel to alledgely stir the waters, and the first person to enter the water would be healed.

This sick man had subjected himself to two different masters, who governed his life. He was held captive by the very things he was obedient to. 

First of all, this man was a slave to his sickness. It had dictated his life for nearly four decades. His identity, daily regimen, and his future were constantly centered around his sickness. It had mastered his life. Secondly, superstition ruled his life. His belief held him captive to a pool of water. I can’t find anywhere in the Old Testament where it mentions healing being bestowed upon Old Testament believers through an angel stirring the waters of a pool. Yet, many people, along with this man, had subjected themselves to this belief. His illness and that pool were all that man could see. They were his entire existence, and they had become lords of his life.

“When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well’” (John 5:6)?

One day, Jesus broke into this man’s self-consumed existence and presented him with a new option. This option meant that the masters of sickness and superstition would have to relinquish their control on him. “Do you want to be made well?” Jesus asked him. This man could attain true freedom if he was willing to let go of these two masters who were ruling his life and accept Jesus’ option.

Many times, we allow our circumstances, superstitions, fear, and erroneous thinking to control us without even knowing it. While we declare that Jesus is our Lord, we remain bound by other masters that rule our lives. True freedom, including healing, can be found when we choose to make Jesus our one true Lord.

You can be a slave to what you face in life or you can be free of its mental, emotional, and physical bondage. Who or what is your master? Are you longing to be free of your affliction? Surrender your mind, heart, and future to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the One who purchased your freedom with His life. He didn’t come to just stir the waters for the first one who could reach Him. He came to all who would believe in Him.

Release yourself from the control of circumstances. Your journey to true freedom begins with recognizing the “masters” that hold your life in bondage and then making the decision to break free, giving your heart to the One who loves you and yearns to set you free.

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).