When You're Chained

My pastor spoke about chains last Sunday and I can't stop thinking about it. 

I've never physically been chained, so I can only imagine how real shackles must feel and what relief there must be when they come off. The heaviness, the pain, and the fear of always being stuck must be agonizing. Deep in despair, a person must wonder, "Is this the way it will always be?"

But, when you feel like your feet are too heavy to move, your arms are too heavy to lift, and your head is too heavy to hold up, the figurative chains can feel real, too. And you, too, wonder, "Is this the way it will always be?"

Will pain prevail? Will destruction win? Will you break under this heavy load?

One of my favorite verses right now is in Psalm 107. "He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; He snapped their chains." (v. 14). One version says, "He broke their chains in pieces."

How??? How does God do this when it feels this load of heaviness and the deepness of the darkness will never end?

How is He able to penetrate all this?

In Psalm 119:81, the psalmist says, "I am worn out waiting for Your rescue, but I have put my hope in Your word."

His word provides hope. His Word tells us this:

God speaks the truth. The enemy speaks lies.

God gives freedom. The enemy gives enslavement.

God loves. The enemy hates. 

So, when will God show up? He already has. He has rescued us from eternal death (if you believe in Jesus and are saved), and He will rescue us from the painful present. 

Our "job" is to relax and rest in Him. Oh, friend, I know this can be so much easier said than done. 

When Jesus died on the cross, Mary Magdalene wept outside of His tomb. All she knew was grief. But, then, while crying, she stopped looking down and looked in. As she did, she realized a dead body no longer resided there. At first, she was devastated. Her pain worsened as she feared His body was stolen. 

Then, someone asked her why she was crying. Without even looking at the man, she explained her despair.  "Mary!" Jesus said. That's all it took - Him calling her name - for her to know her Savior was right there. 

What happened there? She cried, she looked, she heard, she saw. 

Even in our pure moments of agony, we can look to Him. Through His Word, we hear His voice and suddenly, we see that He is in our midst. 

So, praise the One who rescues us always. He never fails.

"We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again." - 2 Corinthians 1:8-10