Meditation, Christian meditation, has become a lost discipline in the western church. The reasons are many. We're so busy as to be totally distracted. "I don't even have time to think," is a common expression. Then too, it is a discipline, and that's a word and skill we don't like. Whatever the reason, and despite the fact that Scripture commands us to meditate on the power of His Word and words. To dwell upon them, to seek His heart concerning them, to see them come alive in us. To dwell those means we are still, and few of us even know how to be still, especially how to be still before Him.
2 Timothy 2:9 speaks of Paul's being imprisoned for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. He writes, "I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the Word of God cannot be chained." Prison, even under modern circumstances, is a harsh place. In Paul's time, it was a torturous one. The bed was usually a pile of dirty, bug infested straw. There would have been little, if any furniture. The toilet facilities were a hole in the floor. Add to this that Paul was chained between two soldiers. He had no privacy and was fully at the mercy of his jailers. An easy place to lose sight of God and His promises, and to lose sight of these meant to lose sight of their power. Yet Paul did not. He would not. Even in the worst possible conditions, His eyes were fixed on Jesus, the object of His hope.
Could it be that you, right now, may feel chained in harsh and comfortless situations and circumstances? Chained between what you feel you can't escape and the place where you long to be. What do you see? The stark darkness of the situation, or the glory and wonder of His promises and His presence?
Paul knew that his oppressive circumstances did not lessen the power of what God had promised Him. His journey with Him had established His trust in Him. He knew the chains could hold Him, but they could not hold His Lord and Savior or the power of His word and presence. His body might be captive, but his heart, mind, and spirit were free. Chains could not hold Him, so they could not hold Paul. Neither, if we will believe Him, can they hold you and me.
History tells us that Paul was eventually released. Rome, and all her power, had no power against the will and power of God. The Father had more for Paul to do. The chains, the cell, and the soldiers could not stop that. Know today that neither can your chains, your cell, and your jailers. His words to you, His promises, His goodness, can never be chained or made powerless. Believe that. Hold to that. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. He will move and He will work, and He will break every chain. He will lead you out of the cell. He cannot be imprisoned, but He can be unseen. Be still, dwell upon He and His Word. Allow Him to open your eyes to see Him. Your cell, no matter how dark, will flame with His light. The cell door will swing open. No cell or chain can imprison the one who is truly His.
Blessings,
Pastor O