Leviticus 26:12-13   ¹² And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. ¹³ I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more; I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Oftentimes we find our weighed down by the consequences of our poor decisions. We carry them around with us like a yoke. Maybe our yoke is poor health because of unhealthy choices or a bad habit we have trouble breaking or an unhealthy family or work situation that keeps us from moving forward.

The decision to make a change in our lives that lifts the yoke off our backs can be difficult. It may mean leaving behind the familiar or the comfortable. It requires a realization that the way we have become enslaved to a toxic habit or relationship will only hold us back and hurt us.

God promises to be with us as we move out of the unhealthy lifestyle into health and wholeness. God breaks the bonds of our slavery to the past and relieves us from the yokes that weigh us down and bend our backs. God transforms our thinking so that we can embrace the new life of freedom and health that will restore and renew us. Though the journey may be long, God promises to walk with us the entire way.

Lord, break the yokes that hold us down. Let us walk erect and free in your love. Amen.