The Chain-Breaker

 “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.” 

Psalm 107:13-14 (NIV)

          It’s not a sight you see every day – people in identical orange short-sleeved coveralls shuffling along the sidewalk – but you see it in my town. They go from the jail to the courthouse and then back to the jail periodically.

     Their pace is painfully slow. Chains and shackles keep them from moving any faster.  Their heads are down as they struggle to make sure they are not stepping on the ankles of the person in front and at the same time not getting stepped on by the person walking behind them.

     Watching this procession, you cannot help but wonder why each one has been arrested and detained. But you also find yourself wondering how it must feel to take every step chained and shackled.  No freedom to dance or jump or even turn.  But rather, every movement held in place by metal links locked together to restrain the person wearing them.

     And then I look at my life. No orange coveralls. Nothing on my arms and legs restricting me. And yet at times I too can find myself in chains. The shortlist? Fear, anger, envy, loneliness, depression, greed, infidelity, jealousy, resentment, addictions, worry, unforgiveness. 

   A normal part of life, you say. You don’t know how unfair the election was, you don’t understand that the award, the promotion, the recognition should have been mine, that the comments about me were horrible, that I cannot control my addictions! Need I go on? 

     We have all experienced at least one of those chains. They can rob us of our ability to function daily because they steal our joy and, if we are not careful, consume our every thought and action to the point that our very faith and trust in the Lord is crippled!

     There is no way to break those chains on our own. Psalm 107:13-14 says “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.”

     Are chains holding you tightly and robbing you of joy and hope and peace? Every single one can be broken to pieces by giving them to Jesus, the only true Chain-breaker!

     I encourage you to talk with a prayer warrior friend, a counselor, or a minister and share what chains are wrapped around your heart and holding you hostage. Then go before the Lord and ask Him to free you from each one and replace them with mercy and forgiveness and love. Today, this very minute, trust the Chain-breaker to do what He says He will do.

     Father, there are chains in my life that are keeping me in darkness. Please take them from my heart and replace them with you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up

 Reflect

• What “chains” in your life are keeping you from experiencing joy, peace, and mercy from the Lord?

• Have you tried to remove them from your life or accepted them as normal?

Apply

•   Journal every “chain” in your life – past and present – that is holding you prisoner.

•   Thank the Lord for breaking each chain from your heart. 

Power                           

• Psalm 107:13-14 (NIV) “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.”

•  Psalm 116:16 (NIV) “O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains.”

• Matthew 4:24 (NIV) “News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, and those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.”