Devotional Sermon #106: LIFE FELT LIKE A PRISON FROM WHICH I LONGED TO ESCAPE - Inspirational Christian stories
The urgency of the need not only engulfed me; its intensity also took me by surprise. I tried to scream, to release the pressure that had built up inside me, but the scream jammed mid-throat. I surely needed relief from the burdens and meaninglessness of life.
It was something that I needed to do, one thing I eagerly wanted to be, something that I had waited for since birth - and it was time, a 'now or never' kind of situation. I had had enough of the status quo.
I could no longer continue to live the same way. I needed a break, if life was to have even a bit of meaning - yet it was a break that neither any man nor the whole world could give.
My eyes shifted to the 'handcuffs' of my life - cold as ice, slowly eating into the wrist-bones of my soul. Drops of sweat covered my palms, and my brow was no different.
I looked at my legs - the leg irons were still in place, ironically shining and determined, evidence of what I had been all these years. Oh, how I detested the shackles!
“Oh God I want out!” I eventually managed to send out a cry that pierced the quietness, unsettling even me, as my soul longed for a breath of fresh air.
Walls on every side, threatening gullies every step of the way, alert predators; for me it was nothing but the prison of life.
As I pondered my next move, I observed that I had grown one lock of hair, its roots etched in the desert of my skull. As I continued to watch, one more sprouted. Soon my head was all locks, all green, life’s oil and power, so I guessed.
A strong wind blew on me for several minutes, lifting my chest and sending me gasping for breath, and in their trembling, my hands displayed shimmering spiritual muscles, evidence of new strength acquired.
With one hand on the Eastern wall and the other on the Western, Samson-style, I brought my enclosure down; in one, mighty thrust it all turned to rubble; what a relief that was. Truly, God is able!
As I sauntered out of my debris, my feet touched soft ground. I felt like something heavy had dropped off my shoulders. I also felt like I had jumped from a spider’s web, but landed softly, if only to give me the opportunity to recount what happened.
I lifted my hands high. Pure praise; the delight of the soul. What a new order of things! How lofty He had lifted me! I began to jog; it just had to be - for it was time.
A sweet smell of perfume filled the air; the kind that could come only from mature flowers. A wind blew gently, sending the leaves hissing, my soul rejoicing. Sweet beaky sounds invaded my privacy. The beauty of freedom under the sun!
I looked at my shoes, then at my clothes. They all told the story, the complete and uncensored story of my life.
“I sure have been travelling and it is a long journey that I have travelled, through valleys and thickets, and it shows,” words escaped my mouth. As I stood there, with my mind I took a picture of self; a picture that was soon to be the only one of its kind.
And as I stared at the picture, a voice cut through the silence. “Is that you, Phanuel?” the voice asked with absolute and unmistakable clarity.
My ears picked yet another sound. Although I could not tell what it was, I could tell the direction from where it came.
At once, I waded through the lilies and the budding bushes, and there before me slithered a small stream. The ease with which the water flowed, the purity and the peace there was! After spending ages in the muddy waters of life’s prison, the kind that could easily define a people, the stream brought with it a refreshing order.
I was dying of thirst; I also smelled of heavy sweat.
I bent down to drink from the stream, but something immediately caught my attention, stopping me before I even took the first sip.
Hastily I stood up, gasping. What an ugly sight!
My face; I had seen my face in the water! All the time that I had languished in prison I never had the chance to look at my face; neither did I have the means. All I ever did was imagine it.
The cracks, the wrinkles and the paleness that I had seen in the water astounded me.
“Is that you, Phanuel?” the voice echoed again.
“Oh God, I wish it wasn't me!” I cried out. “But that’s me my God; but that surely cannot be me!” I added, struggling to give sense to the contradiction.
It was time. I stooped once more and with eyes closed drank until I was full. After doing so, I felt as though I had become one with the stream, a constant, tranquil flow of amazing beauty.
Time for a complete bath, a deep one! I discarded every old piece of clothing. Water violently splashed to the edges of the stream as I took a dive. I spent so much time under the water that I came out ‘waterlogged’.
As I emerged from the stream, my soul watched in wonder as the desert of my life traced its footmarks back to its source.
After applying skin lotion and putting on a set of clean, freshly pressed clothes, I once more stood in front of the mirror - this time tall, assertive, fearless and ready to take on Goliath.
“Welcome, Phanuel!” the message of the voice had now changed.
It was the journey of my life. Released from the prison of life, I stepped back from the mirror, turned and began to take brisk steps into my space.
“Goodbye, Phanuel,” the voice faded behind me.
“Welcome, Phanuel!” Ahead of me, the sound of drums, horns and tambourines filled the air. It was the sound of victory!
The future looked bright. Hallelujah!
DEVOTIONAL PRAYER
Prayer Point for Today: That I may show gratitude to God for saving my soul.
Father, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
I run short of words to express how grateful to You I am for saving me.
I look back and ask myself the question, "Where would I be now if God had not showed me mercy?"
I am grateful for the finished work of cross that touched me in such a wonderful way.
In You I find hope, love, peace and comfort. Help me as I seek to do your will.
Father, for as long as I live I shall worship no other nor seek any other. You saved me, which no other gods could do.
For this, Father I thank You.
In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray.