Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:31–32 (NKJV)
Your heart is giving birth to your future right now. It may not be happening as fast as you want it to, but what you focus on will become your future.
If you focus on someone’s flaws and nothing else, you may as well say goodbye to the relationship. “We just grew apart,” you’ll say, but in reality, relationships can die just because of the wrong focus.
When we read today’s verses, we tend to ignore the first part. We like the part that says the truth will make us free, but we like to gloss over the part that talks about continuing in God’s Word and being disciplined followers.
The problem is that verse 32 doesn’t work without verse 31. Without verse 31 you might think that once you know truth, it’s guaranteed to be yours forever, but that’s not exactly how it works. Think about it. You can know it is God’s will to prosper you and heal you, but does that mean you’re walking in every bit of prosperity and health he has for you?
The truth is you need to continue spending time in his Word to experience every bit of freedom he has for you. Think of it like a garden. If you want to have heaps of potatoes, carrots, corn and peas every year, you need to engage in the process of planting every year!
Ongoing meditation on God’s Word and his promises is what brings the truth into your heart and that’s what makes you free. Decide to live in his Word every day!