Joy in prison? Where’s the joy in losing freedom? (And I could say “joy in quarantine” and it’d be even more personal, right?)

I woke up this morning thinking about joy. Joy is a condition of the heart and not necessarily a feeling. It’s a state of mind that transcends circumstances.

You may feel like you’re a prisoner because your coming and going is severely limited. But if there can be joy in prison, then there can be joy anywhere. And it’s not dependent on what’s happening around you.

Here are two questions for you to answer before I go any futher:

1. What was the worst punishment you remember getting when you were a kid?
2. What do you do to lift your spirits when you’re in a funk?

So, scoot your chair in close, kids. Uncle Tony is going to tell you a story.

There is an ancient account in the book of Acts – chapter 16.

Our main characters are Paul and Silas. In verse 16, we see these guys encounter a fortune teller. This slave girl was making a good living for her owners. When Paul and Silas show up, she starts following them around – for several days, in fact – hollering “these men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved!” (V. 17, NIV).

This gets on Paul’s nerves. This girl wasn’t lying, obviously, but she wasn’t the kind of person that Paul wanted to be identified with. It made him and Silas look more like sorcerers than missionaries. So Paul commands the evil spirit possessing this girl and giving her her abilities to leave. Done.

Needless to say, the owners of the slave girl saw their livelihood dry up. Poof. So they grab Paul and Silas, drag them before the authorities, and say, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” (V. 20). Okay, then.

Things don’t go well for Paul and Silas. Instead of a formal trial, which legally they were supposed to have, they’re stripped and beaten by the crowd – “severely flogged,” the scripture says.

They are thrown into prison. The jailer puts them in an inner cell, puts their feet in stocks, and stands guard over them.

Now things get really interesting. Joy in prison? Riiiiight.

Verse 25 says, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

Imagine you’re another prisoner. You have to wonder, “What’s up with these guys? Why are they singing? What is there to pray about? Don’t they realize how bad things are for them?”

Let’s stop for a moment. This is evidence of joy in prison. Check this out – the joy these men are experiencing and displaying is not dependent on the circumstances they’re in – it’s dependent on who they have a relationship with. Hello!

You’re probably several steps ahead of me by now. You may feel like you’ve been in prison the last few weeks. At the very least, you’ve had to monitor where you go, who you’re with, and what you can and can’t do.

Have you been joyful through all that? Have you experienced joy in your prison?

Scripture says, “Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. All at once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.” It’s worth noting that not only were Paul and Silas freed, everyone else was, too.

I’d encourage you to read the rest of the passage for yourself. It’s good stuff. You can read about the response of the jailer – who wanted to kill himself because of his perceived failure – and his question of “What must I do to be saved?” (That’s the most important question anyone can ever ask, by the way.)

When you think about there being joy in prison, that just doesn’t seem possible, now does it? In this account, though, Paul and Silas experienced joy first, and then freedom. They weren’t freed and then felt joy. Joy preceded freedom.

Man, that’s good.

Let’s wrap this thing. Let me help you today.

• You may feel that you’re imprisoned. I’m not talking about simply being quarantined. You may feel like you’re a prisoner of your thoughts and emotions.
• Maybe you are dealing with the blackest funk imaginable. You don’t have COVID-19, but some of what you’re experiencing is just as bad, just not in a physical sense.
• And yet – you can be joyful. But it’s not a joy that you can dredge up from within yourself.
• Remember – you can be unhappy and joyful at the same time. That’s a paradox, but it’s so. Happiness is transient. Joy is eternal.
• What Paul said to the jailer, verse 31: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.” Ka-pow! Boom! Think the jailer experienced joy then? Because now, the fact that all the prisoners were freed – which would have been reason for despair – was negated by the joy of his salvation.

Point – you can experience joy in prison, no matter what that prison might be.

It’s futile to try to “feel good” on your own during these challenging days. Oh, you might have moments of pleasure when you are able to have one of your favorite meals delivered, of if you score on some toilet paper. But that won’t last.

People, your unchanging, amazing joy is all wrapped up in your relationship with Jesus.

I assure you, He will sustain you in your prison. One day you’ll be free in every sense of the word.

Until then, joy is readily available. Just don’t think you can experience it with your own resources.

O be joyful.

 

 

Unforgiveness is not an option. At least, it shouldn’t be.

Here’s why.

During this past week, the nation and world were witness to an amazing legal trial in Dallas. Here’s what www.Relevantmagazine.com shared (and the photo credit is theirs, too):

This week, former police officer Amber Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of her neighbor Botham Jean. 

Jean was at home by himself when Guyger entered his apartment by mistake, and shot and killed him. He was just 26 years old. Yesterday, after the sentencing, Botham’s younger brother Brandt addressed the court, and delivered a powerful message to Guyger. 

Brandt then nervously asked the judge if he could give Guyger a hug.

The judge also gave Guyger a Bible – and my understanding is that it was the judge’s personal Bible. The folks from Freedom From Religion have just about gone into anaphylactic shock over that.

For Brandt, unforgiveness was not an option.

How about you?

And, my followup question:

Why wouldn’t you forgive? Unforgiveness is not an option.

I’m sure you have plenty of answers to that. It certainly is easy to harbor unforgiveness, even bitterness. Aren’t grudges fun anyway?

Isn’t it a pleasure to despise someone else?

Of course it is. We all enjoy locking eyes with someone who has wronged us or someone we care about and feel that delicious blossoming of malice. It’s fun to wish ill-will on someone else.

Or not.

C’mon, now. What purpose does unforgiveness serve? Who exactly do we want to hurt?

If someone has wronged you or otherwise hurt you, and you haven’t forgiven them, to what end does your unforgiveness lead you?

It won’t take you to a pleasant place. I guarantee it.

• For one, unforgiveness won’t take you back in time. It won’t undo what has been done. It’s called the “past” for a reason.
• Second, it won’t change the person that you won’t forgive. They are who they are. Besides, you can’t change anyone. That’s out of your hands.
• Third, it will change you. It simply makes you feel bad, at the very least. And if you don’t feel bad by being consumed with ill-will, well, I’m guessing you have other issues, too. Maybe your soul has become bitter and shriveled.

Why wouldn’t you forgive? It may be that you’re in a place of such pain that you can’t be anything but negative.

That’s bogus. Because you can always, always, always choose to forgive. Unforgiveness is not an option because you have a will that makes it possible.

It may be that we don’t forgive because we prefer personal misery instead.

Forgiveness is liberating. It brings life and freedom. It gives us authority over ourselves, and, in a sense, gives us authority over the person we didn’t want to forgive. And it shows that we may be a bigger person than they are. That’s not a license to show some sort of “I’m better than they are” attitude. It simply means that we aren’t going to let someone else’s actions devalue us. Forgiveness gives us value.

Then, for the believer, there’s this: Take a look at the Cross.

Did Jesus deserve that? Did He have any reason to die for us, ungrateful little people that we are? Scripture is clear that it was our sin that put Him up there, writhing in agony. Not only did He forgive those that physically put Him up there in real time, He forgave us. He made provision for anyone, anytime, anywhere to receive this supernatural forgiveness.

You’ve heard this thousands of times, but hear it again: We can forgive because He first forgave us. We are supernaturally empowered to forgive others because of Him. For Christ-followers, unforgiveness is not an option.

Paraphrasing R.C. Sproul:

Unforgiveness is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God.

Let this be fresh to you, because the implications are staggering.

You can face life with your head held high and your spirit soaring. And it’s because you can do what Jesus did.

P.S. I’d be honored if you’d check out the free course offered in the Transformational Encouragement Academy and leave some feedback. I want this to be the best resource ever. Check it out here.