"Behind Bars"

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." Isaiah 61:1

"Opening of the prison to them that are bound." There is more than one kind of prisoner. There are those who are literally, physically sitting behind bars. Then there are those who are sitting behind bars that cannot be seen with the naked eye. When we think about those prisoners, we usually think about people who are prisoners of sin- they have not yet received salvation. We also think about those who are bound by some sort of addiction. But there are others who are also prisoners and bound by things that aren't so obvious.

There are people, even Christians, who are sitting in prisons of fear- fear of rejection, fear of peoples' opinions, fear of failure, fear of success. Then there are others who are sitting in prisons of chaos and confusion. They have no direction. They don't know what to do. They have no peace and are living in turmoil. Turmoil brought on by others. Turmoil brought on by unwise decisions. Confusion because they try to live according to their own understanding and guidance. There are also people who are sitting in prisons of bitterness and unforgiveness. They can't let go of what someone did or said about them. They keep rehearsing and rehearsing the thing that was done or said and won't stop dwelling on it. You will also find those who are in prisons of hurt and pain. They were wounded by someone's words or actions and they are still grieving over it.

The difference between these prisoners and those who are sitting behind steel bars is the fact that those who aren't behind the literal bars often don't realize that they are in a prison because they can't "see" it. Are you one of those people? Are you limited in your ability to "move very far"? Are you wondering why you can't make any progress in your life? Do you wonder why you seem to reach only certain levels but can go no further? Perhaps it is because of those "prison bars" that you can't see? Being in prison always limits and confines you to a certain area. It restricts you and refrains you from going very far.

A prisoner who sits behind metal bars has to wait until he has served his time to be release- some will never be because they are serving a life sentence. But those who are sitting behind the bars that aren't seen have already been set free and can leave anytime they are ready. Jesus unlocked all the prison doors when He died on the cross and said, "It is finished". That means you are sitting behind an unlocked door. You are still sitting behind bars that have broken. Jesus already set you free. You have no reason to still be sitting in the prison. Today you can walk out of the prison. How? Confess anything you need to confess before the Lord and accept by faith His freedom.

Have a great day. Why are you still sitting behind a prison door that has already been opened? .

For further reading:
Luke 4:18-21
John 8:36
Galatians 5:1
Romans 8:21