Addiction can begin to shape how you see yourself. Over time, the cycle of failure can make you believe that this is simply who you are now. You may start to think of yourself only through the lens of what you struggle with. That belief is one of the most damaging lies a stronghold can build.
God’s Word offers a very different truth. If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, your identity is not found in your patterns or your past. Your identity is found in Him. He does not call you bound. He calls you free.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” — John 8:36 (KJV)
Jesus did not say you might be free someday. He did not say freedom was only for those who have already overcome everything. He said that if He sets you free, then you are free — completely, fully, and indeed. This is not about feelings. It is about fact. Freedom in Christ is not earned over time. It is received through Him.
You may still feel the pull of temptation. You may still wrestle with habits that need to be broken. That struggle is real, but it does not cancel the truth. Your identity in Christ is not addicted. It is not defeated. It is free.
The first step in walking out of bondage is refusing to agree with the lie that says you belong in it.
What Jesus Sets Free, Stays Free
The freedom that Jesus offers is not temporary or shallow. It is not based on how well you perform or how long you go without slipping. When Jesus declares someone free, that freedom is rooted in His authority and sealed by His work, not yours.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” — John 8:36 (KJV)
This verse is not about partial freedom. The word “indeed” means truly, completely, and without question. When Jesus sets someone free, the chains of spiritual bondage are broken at the root. The power of sin is defeated. The identity of “slave to sin” is replaced with “child of God.”
You may still face temptations. You may still battle habits. That is part of growing in faith. But none of those struggles erase what Jesus has already declared to be true. His Word defines your reality more than your history does.
Many people assume that if they relapse or fall, they must not have been truly free. That is not what Scripture teaches. Freedom in Christ is not the absence of struggle. It is the presence of a greater power — one that makes real change possible and permanent.
If Jesus has made you free, then you are free. That truth does not weaken when you do. It remains strong, even in the middle of the fight.
Stand in What Is Already Yours
Freedom in Christ is not something you have to work for. It is something you already possess if you belong to Him. Scripture does not tell you to go out and achieve your freedom. It tells you to hold onto it.
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free…” — Galatians 5:1 (KJV)
This command assumes that freedom has already been given. Christ has made you free. Your role is to stand firm in that reality. That means refusing to be moved by feelings, past failures, or the enemy’s lies. You are not trying to earn liberty. You are learning to remain rooted in it.
Standing firm does not mean you never feel weak. It means that even in weakness, you remember what is true. God has not placed you in a position of uncertainty. He has placed you in freedom. That freedom may still need to grow and take hold in every area of your life, but the foundation has already been laid.
You do not stand in your performance. You stand in what Jesus accomplished for you. That is where your confidence belongs. When temptation comes, you can respond, “This does not define me. I am already free.”
The more you believe that truth, the more you will begin to live like it.
Don’t Return to What Held You
Freedom in Christ is a gift, but it comes with a warning. Just as we are told to stand firm in our liberty, we are also told not to go back to what once held us captive.
“…and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” — Galatians 5:1 (KJV)
In Paul’s time, a “yoke” was a wooden frame used to bind two animals together for labor. Spiritually, it represents a condition of slavery — being controlled by something that dictates your direction and limits your freedom. For believers, the yoke of bondage can refer to anything that pulls them back into a life of guilt, shame, fear, or control — especially habits that Christ has already broken.
Addiction functions in the same way. It convinces you to return to old patterns even after God has started a new work in you. It tells you that falling back is easier than pressing forward. But Scripture says clearly: do not become entangled again.
You are no longer under the control of that cycle. You are no longer tied to that weight. God has already released you from it. If you feel its pull again, remember that you are not powerless, and you do not belong to it anymore.
Returning to bondage may feel familiar, but it is not your home. Freedom is.
Closing Prayer
God, I thank You that freedom is not something I have to earn. It is something You have already given me through Christ. You do not define me by my past or by my struggle. You define me by Your truth.
Help me believe what You have said. Remind me that I do not belong to addiction, fear, or shame. I belong to You. When I am tempted to go back to old patterns, help me stand firm. When I feel weak, give me the strength to say no and the courage to keep moving forward.
I do not want to carry what You have already removed. I do not want to agree with lies when You have spoken truth. Teach me to live as someone who is already free — because that is who I am in Christ.
Thank You for never giving up on me. Thank You for calling me free, even when I struggle to see it. I receive that freedom now, and I choose to walk in it.
Amen.
The Better Portion
Trade your distraction for devotion and your busyness for belonging, through scripture-centered reflections and questions.
