Prison. The word does not bring with it warm fuzzies. No happy thoughts there.
Prison is never good. It’s a punishment. It’s dark. Dank. Gloomy.
There are several prison stories in the Bible. You have Joseph who was sent there without cause. Many of the prophets in the OT were sent there for speaking God’s truth.
In Acts, there are a couple back-to-back prison stories.
Acts 12 is where Peter was arrested after King Herod had James executed, and it looked like the same fate was in store for Peter. It looked like it was the end for him.
In Acts 16 Paul and Silas were thrown into the inner prison and put into stocks, chained to the wall, all for setting a slave girl free.
Can anyone say No Way Out?
These were not Martha Stewart types of prisons. They were dungeons. Sewage pits. There were horrific smells, decay, huge rats. Prison.
I’ve never been in an actual prison. I’ve never been thrown in jail.
But I’ve been through some dark seasons that have felt like prison. It’s felt like I’ve been chained to the wall of a cold, dank, dungeon-like cell with no way out.
I’ve had seasons where I’ve cried myself to sleep and then cried myself awake…that is if I even slept at all. Feeling alone. Desperate. Hopeless. Imprisoned.
And these accounts of the mighty men of old in prison have brought me so much hope.
Overnight, Joseph walked right out of prison and right into his dream.
Peter was so at peace in prison that an angel had to tap him on the shoulder to wake him up so he could walk him out of prison straight to the door of the people who had been praying for him without ceasing.
Paul and Silas were so enamored of who their God was that they sat in that dark prison and worshipped so loudly that those chains broke apart when His presence flooded the cell. Set free immediately.
And in those dark, dark, dark times, He would whisper so deep in my heart, “I’m here with you like I was with them. Be at peace, and rest. I’ll walk you through. It’s all going to be okay.”
And it always was.
You might feel like you’re in a prison of sorts. Hopeless. Helpless. Like there’s no way out.
Let me encourage you to read Genesis 41 about Joseph’s overnight turn around. Read Acts 12 about Peter’s angelically assisted jail break. Read Acts 16 about what happened for Paul and Silas when God’s presence arrived on the scene when they worshipped Him.
Because He is the same God today, for you, and what He did for Joseph and for Peter and for Paul and for me, He will do for you too.
And take heart, He has someone somewhere praying for you without ceasing until your faith becomes sight.
Hear Him whisper in your soul today, “Be at peace. Rest. I’m here. I’ll walk you through. It’s going to be okay.”