“He is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.” 1 Samuel 23:7
I am a prisoner,
But not of time or chance,
Not held within these mighty walls,
So far from life’s glad dance,
By metal chains of man’s design,
But stronger ones of Thine,
I am a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
He sent me here for purposes
Unknown as yet to me,
But in a past eternity,
He chose it so to be:
That here I’d be in prison walls,
Yet glad captivity.
I am a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
Yet since I am His prisoner,
His freed one I can be
My spirit free to soar above,
His glorious face to see …
And there to look down
On these walls of blest captivity,
And know that even in my cell,
He walks with me.
So since I am Thy prisoner,
More blest am I, more free,
Than in the days I walked, unchained,
But oft so far from Thee.
I’d rather be a prisoner,
Since here He walks with me
Than be set free to walk alone,
In lonely liberty.
What is my prison-house, you ask?
My brother, don’t you see —
Wheree’er the will of God doth cross my will, Then that must be,
A prison … where my flesh is chained,
No more to be set free.
Yet in that cell of death, I wake,
To life, eternally.
R.R.
Today you may feel at times as if you are in a prison. Your prison may be the four walls of your house, the chains that bind you may be little hands stretched out unceasingly with needs of every kind and little feet that run to create more messes to keep you from any liberty to “do your own thing.” Or maybe the hands and feet aren’t so little any more, but are of teens who still need your constant watchfulness. Maybe an elderly parent or a demanding husband is the one who binds you. Some days you feel so glad to serve these needs, but then there are days when you may resent them. May you realize today that you are not a prisoner of your child, your husband, or your needy parent, but you are a “prisoner of Jesus Christ.” He is the One who has placed you where you are, to conform you to His image. You aren’t shut in by “gates and bars.” Your chains are stronger than metal ones; they are chains of love.