Jesus Can Set You Free: 7 Day Devotional
- Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
- Jun 1
- 10 min read

Here are a few additional resources to guide your quiet time this week:
Watch the replay of "Jesus Can Set You Free" by Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
Find more details about our 7 Day Summer Fast
Use this small group discussion guide with family, friends and co-workers.
Join us for our 6 AM Prayer Call, Monday through Friday (EST)
Day 1: Desperate Faith
Based on the Message: "Jesus Can Set You Free" by Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
"A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years." - Mark 5:24-25
Devotional: In a world of quick fixes and surface-level solutions, we often find ourselves managing symptoms rather than seeking true healing. The woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5 shows us what desperate faith looks like. For twelve years—4,380 days—she suffered not just physically, but socially and spiritually as her condition made her ritually unclean. She had tried everything, spent all she had, yet grew worse...
When she heard about Jesus, something stirred within her. She didn't need a formal introduction or an appointment. She believed that just touching his garment would be enough. This wasn't casual curiosity—it was a faith born of desperation, a last-resort determination that pushed her through crowds despite her unclean status.
We may not be bleeding physically, but some are bleeding spiritually today. We maintain religious appearances while hiding our internal wounds. We go through motions, serve others, and use spiritual language, but the bleeding continues. What would happen if we approached Jesus with the same desperate faith as this woman? Not casual faith nor convenient faith, but "crawling-if-we-have-to faith" that refuses to let anything stand between us and the healing touch of Jesus.
Quote: "This season of fasting and soul care is going to make the difference in your healing." - Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
Question: What barriers or crowds are currently standing between you and experiencing the healing touch of Jesus, and what would it look like for you to press through them with desperate faith?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give us faith like the woman with the issue of blood. Rather than tolerating our wounds, we seek true healing. Give us the courage to press through whatever crowds, fears, or doubts that block our pathway to You. I believe in Your ability to heal the deepest wounds of our soul; in Jesus's name, amen.
Day 2: The Bleeding Within
Based on the Message: "Jesus Can Set You Free" by Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
"She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse." - Mark 5:26
Devotional: We all bleed in different ways. While the woman in Mark's gospel bled physically, many of us bleed spiritually—wounds that no one sees, but drain our life force just the same. These soul wounds often begin in childhood or through traumatic experiences that create patterns affecting every area of our lives.
Some of us bleed from father wounds—where Dad was physically absent or emotionally unavailable. Others bleed from betrayal, rejection, or abuse. These wounds don't just disappear with time; they shape how we see ourselves, others, and even God.
The woman with the issue of blood spent everything she had seeking healing, only to grow worse. In a similar fashion, we attempt to stop spiritual bleeding through achievement, relationships, substances, or even religious activity—yet the wound remains. We sit in church with smiles that hide our internal pain, singing songs of joy while bleeding inside.
Jesus doesn't just offer surface-level relief or manage symptoms—He heals the source. The woman touched His garment and "felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering." She experienced complete restoration.
Quote: "Some of you are not bleeding physically, but you're bleeding spiritually. You may look alright on the outside, but you are hemorrhaging on the inside."- Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
Question: What internal wounds are you carrying? How have you failed at trying to heal through your own efforts?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we acknowledge the places where we are bleeding spiritually. Forgive us if we have been hiding, ignoring or self-medicating these wounds. Today we bring them into Your light. We believe You see beyond our smile and are willing to address the pain we carry. Touch these places with Your healing power, in Jesus' name, Amen.
Day 3: The Power of His Touch
Based on the Message: "Jesus Can Set You Free" by Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
"When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak." - Mark 5:27
Devotional: There's something profoundly intimate about touch. In a world increasingly disconnected despite our digital connections, physical touch remains powerful—it can comfort, heal, and communicate what words cannot. For the woman with the issue of blood, touch was both her greatest risk and her only hope.
According to Jewish law, her touch would make a person ceremonially unclean. Yet something remarkable happened when she touched Jesus: instead of her uncleanness contaminating Him, His cleanness purified her. "Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering." Twelve years of pain ended in an instant. This represents a fundamental shift in how God relates to us.
Under the old covenant, unclean things contaminated clean things. But Jesus introduced a new reality where His holiness is more powerful than our brokenness. His purity overcomes our impurity. His wholeness restores our fragmentation. Jesus endured the ultimate trauma on the cross so we could be set free. He took our wounds upon Himself. He carried our sorrows. He bled so we could stop bleeding. This isn't just theological truth—it's practical healing power available to us today.
When we touch Jesus—through prayer, worship, His Word, or the community of believers—His power flows into our wounded places. Today, reach out and touch Him, believing His power is greater than your pain.
Quote: "She reached for the hem of Jesus’s garment, and something miraculous happened; she was freed from the suffering of 4,380 days of unrelenting pain. Can you imagine the relief?!" - Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
Question: In what specific ways can you intentionally "touch the hem of Jesus' garment" today, believing that His power can flow into your wounded areas?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we reach out to touch You today, believing Your power is greater than our pain. Thank You for enduring the cross so we could be healed. We approach You with faith, knowing that Your holiness overcomes our brokenness. Let Your healing power flow into every wounded place in our life. We receive Your touch of transformation, in Jesus' name, Amen.
Day 4: Overcoming Shame and Isolation
Based on the Message: "Jesus Can Set You Free" by Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." - John 1:12
Devotional: According to the Old Testament law, the woman with the issue of blood was unclean. Her condition didn’t just affect her physically—it isolated her socially, spiritually, and emotionally. For twelve years, she lived in the shadows, separated from others and likely burdened by deep shame. But when she reached out to Jesus in faith, His response wasn’t rejection—it was restoration.
He didn’t just heal her body; He restored her identity by calling her “Daughter.” That one word broke the silence of her isolation and reestablished her place in the community. What the law had labeled unclean, Jesus declared whole.
Shame has a way of pushing us into hiding, convincing us that we’re too broken to be seen or loved. But Jesus meets us right where we are—not with condemnation, but with compassion. He sees past our mess and calls us by name. He draws us out of isolation and back into belonging. Jesus is still saying, “Come.” Come out of hiding. Come into the light. In Him, you are fully known and fully loved.
Quote: "When Jesus calls you daughter, can't nobody else call you out your name." - Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
Question: Are there areas in your life where shame has silenced you? Where fear of being “too much” or “not enough” has kept you distant from God or others?
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for calling us out of shame and into relationship. Help us to believe that we are not condemned, but accepted and loved by You. Give us the courage to bring our hidden places into the light, trusting that You will meet us with grace. Restore what shame has broken, and teach us to walk in freedom. in Jesus' name, amen!
Day 5: From Suffering to Testimony
Based on the Message: "Jesus Can Set You Free" by Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
"He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us."- 2 Corinthians 1:4
Devotional:The woman who once suffered in silence became a voice of encouragement across generations. Her story—marked by pain, risk, and ultimately healing—was not forgotten. Jesus didn’t just heal her; He highlighted her faith and made her story part of the Gospel. Her encounter with Him turned her suffering into a testimony.
This is the pattern of God’s grace: He meets us in our lowest moments, heals us, restores us—and then invites us to comfort others with what we’ve received. Paul reminds us that our struggles aren’t wasted. They are often the very places God uses to connect us with others and point them to His faithfulness.
Have you considered how your wounds—now healed or healing—might encourage someone else? That moment you thought might break you could be the very testimony that helps someone else believe God can meet them too. Don’t underestimate the power of your story. Your breakthrough can become someone else’s blueprint for hope.
Quote: "You might feel damaged or discarded, but we serve a God who can repair, restore and renew. He can take that which is damaged and develop it for His glory."- Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
Question: How has God worked in your life in a way that could encourage someone else?
Prayer: Lord, thank You for meeting me in my suffering and transforming my pain into purpose. Show me how to use my story to point others to Your goodness. Give me the boldness to testify of Your grace, and the wisdom to know when and how to share it. Let my life be living proof of Your healing love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Day 6: Receiving Your True Identity
Based on the Message: "Jesus Can Set You Free" by Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
"He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering" - Mark 5:34
Devotional: Identity shapes everything about us—how we see ourselves, how we relate to others, and how we approach life's challenges. The bleeding woman had likely internalized painful identities: unclean, outcast, burden, hopeless case. For twelve years, her condition defined her. But notice what happens after her healing. Jesus doesn't let her slip away anonymously. He calls her out, not to shame her but to restore her identity. "Daughter," he calls her—a word of belonging, family, and acceptance.
With one word, Jesus redefines who she is. Many of us carry false identities formed by wounds, failures, or others' words. We see ourselves as damaged goods, perpetual victims, never enough, or beyond repair. These false identities limit what we believe God can do in and through us. Jesus specializes in identity restoration. When He calls you daughter or son, no one else can define you differently. Your past doesn't determine your identity. Your wounds don't determine your worth. Your failures don't determine your future.
This season of soul care isn't just about behavior modification—it's about identity transformation. As you fast and pray, listen for how Jesus names you. Let His words overwrite the false identities you've carried. When Jesus tells you who you are, it settles the question permanently.
Quote: " Jesus spoke to that woman, said, daughter, identity, identity. This fast and consecration is going to help many of you with your identity." - Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
Question: What false identities have you been carrying? Today, ask Jesus how He sees you. What name does He call you? Receive your true identity as His beloved child, and let that identity reshape how you see yourself and your future.
Prayer: Father, we've carried false identities for too long. Today we choose to receive the identity You give us. Speak Your truth over us. Help us hear You calling us daughter or son with love and acceptance. We reject the labels others have given us and embrace who You say we are. Thank You for restoring our true identity in You. Amen.
Day 7: Walking in Freedom
Based on the Message: "Jesus Can Set You Free" by Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
"Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. " - Mark 5:29
Devotional: Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." These final words from Jesus to the woman complete her healing journey. Not only did her physical bleeding stop, but Jesus addressed her whole person—giving her peace to replace her anxiety and freedom to replace her bondage.
True healing is comprehensive. It's not just the absence of symptoms but the presence of wholeness. Many of us have experienced partial healing—perhaps the behavior stopped, but the internal turmoil remains. Or maybe we've found temporary relief but not lasting freedom. Jesus offers complete restoration. He can repair what's damaged, restore what's lost, and renew what's depleted.
His healing reaches the deepest places—those areas we've hidden, medicated, or learned to live with. The places where we've said, "This is just how I am." Walking in freedom means no longer being defined or limited by our wounds. It means breaking generational cycles so we don't transfer our bleeding to others. It means serving from wholeness rather than from woundedness. It means living from our true identity rather than our trauma.
This freedom isn't just for a select few—it's available to anyone who approaches Jesus with faith. The same power that stopped the woman's bleeding can heal your deepest wounds. The same voice that told her to go in peace can speak peace over your chaos. The same Lord who freed her from suffering can set you free. Today, receive His words personally: Go in peace. Be freed from your suffering. Walk in the freedom Jesus purchased for you
Quote: "This season of fasting and soul care is going to make the difference in your healing process. Just people get a vision of their summer body, God wants to show you a vision of a healed soul."- Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.
Question: What would it look like for you to fully walk in the freedom Jesus offers, no longer defined by your past wounds but by your identity as God's healed child?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we receive the same words You spoke to the woman with the issue of blood: "Go in peace. Be freed from your suffering." As we grow closer to the end of this fast, we choose to walk in the freedom You've purchased for us. Thank You for comprehensive healing—not just managing our symptoms but transforming our whole being. Help us live from wholeness rather than woundedness. We declare that our wounds no longer define us. You have set us free, and we are free indeed. In Jesus' name, amen!
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