“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” (Heb. 13:3)
I have sat in that cell, that cage, where one is not allowed to leave unless the one with the key to it permits you to.
Have you ever considered this world, your life, a prison cell, not only in the fact that you cannot leave it, but that you are limited to where you can travel upon it, no different than those whom we will spend eternity with are trapped, and not always against their will, by those prison bars? I have read many accounts of the people of the Living God who have found eternal peace behind those bars, and how many who thought all hope was gone found eternal hope within those walls.
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Phil. 4:11)
We are trapped here, there is no place else to go, and there is no need to, for surrounding us every day are those who are not only also trapped, but in bondage, they think freedom is “out there,” they believe that pleasure, joy and happiness can be found in greater amounts somewhere else besides where they are, and no matter how far they travel, either on this planet or within their imagination, they will never realize the truth of John 8:36.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Always looking, always searching, and never finding for the truths we know, that we have been blessed with, and the truth of Isaiah 26:3 they will never know in the fulness that it has been given to us.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
This is the foundation of the prayers I offer up to our Father in heaven for those that serve Him with all their heart who have been placed behind those prison walls. Yes, that the physical pain and mental anguish would be lessened, yes, that they would be freed from that cell, but mainly that He would bless them with a peace that passes all understanding.
A man can do much more than he ever imagined, can withstand much more than he ever thought possible with that peace that encompasses his entire being. The promises of the Word of God become more real, the tormentors can be looked upon with pity, the Lord Jesus Christ’s strength becomes their strength, and then the truth of Philippians 4:13 becomes a reality in their lives.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
The misery of life becomes the joy of faithful obedience.
These saints of God rest fully assured in Romans 8:28.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
And so become the rare few who can honestly repeat with Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:” (Job 13:15a)
We walk amongst the prisoners of this planet, billions held in bondage to sin and the wiles of our adversary, yet we walk in a freedom many of them will never experience.
No matter where the Almighty has placed you, that is where He wants you to be, and our responsibility, our privilege, is to reveal to all we meet who believe themselves to be free, whether outside of that cell or within it, that they are not, and never will be, until they come to know the only One who can truly set them free.
Jerry Macauly, a man of great sins, found peace within those cell walls, and actually did not want to leave prison for the sake of all the lost souls that inhabited that place with him. When he stepped out into the “free world” he found thousands still in bondage, and the Almighty used him to start a Spiritual fire that is still burning today.
Pray for that peace that passes all understanding for those who serve the Lord who are imprisoned for His name, they have already been freed from bondage.
