Madre
03-11-2009, 03:27 PM
The Lord brought this phrase to mind this morning: "Prisoners of hope".
"Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee." (Zechariah 9:12)
What are we captive to? Anxiety, worry, fear, anger, hopelessness, despair, bitterness? These are very real prison guards that can keep us under lock and key if we allow ourselves to be enslaved. One of the definitions of the word prisoner is:
"One whose liberty is restrained, as a bird in a cage."
When we allow ourselves to be taken captive (by our enemy) in these negative, harmful ways, we are behind bars as surely as if we were in a maximum security prison.
However, there is another side to being a prisoner. Paul refers to himself several times as being the "prisoner of the Lord" or the "prisoner of Jesus Christ" in the New Testament (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:18; Philemon 1:1, 1:9).
Now when we are His prisoners, we are prisoners of hope. Our cage is His loving arms and we find our liberty ever expanding with hope. Being the prisoner of the Lord is a far cry from being the prisoner of our flesh and our sin. We are no longer slaves that are being beaten daily and cowed into submission to some "thing" that has absolutely no care for us. Instead we are love slaves to a kind Master who not only wants the best for us, but knows exactly what that "best" is and how to accomplish it.
So, to my fellow "prisoners of hope", take heart. Love you!
Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. Psalm 68:18
To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. Isaiah 42:7
"Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee." (Zechariah 9:12)
What are we captive to? Anxiety, worry, fear, anger, hopelessness, despair, bitterness? These are very real prison guards that can keep us under lock and key if we allow ourselves to be enslaved. One of the definitions of the word prisoner is:
"One whose liberty is restrained, as a bird in a cage."
When we allow ourselves to be taken captive (by our enemy) in these negative, harmful ways, we are behind bars as surely as if we were in a maximum security prison.
However, there is another side to being a prisoner. Paul refers to himself several times as being the "prisoner of the Lord" or the "prisoner of Jesus Christ" in the New Testament (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:18; Philemon 1:1, 1:9).
Now when we are His prisoners, we are prisoners of hope. Our cage is His loving arms and we find our liberty ever expanding with hope. Being the prisoner of the Lord is a far cry from being the prisoner of our flesh and our sin. We are no longer slaves that are being beaten daily and cowed into submission to some "thing" that has absolutely no care for us. Instead we are love slaves to a kind Master who not only wants the best for us, but knows exactly what that "best" is and how to accomplish it.
So, to my fellow "prisoners of hope", take heart. Love you!
Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. Psalm 68:18
To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. Isaiah 42:7