10 Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, 
    imprisoned in iron chains of misery. 
11 They rebelled against the words of God, 
    scorning the counsel of the Most High. 
12 That is why he broke them with hard labor; 
    they fell, and no one was there to help them. 
13 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, 
    and he saved them from their distress. 
14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; 
    he snapped their chains. 
15 Let them praise the Lord for his great love 
    and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 
16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; 
    he cut apart their bars of iron.

Psalm 107:10-16

Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.

Why?

Because they rebelled against God’s word. They scorned His counsel.

In a nutshell, they thought they knew better than God.

And in their pride, they wrapped themselves in chains that would ultimately become their misery.

Oh sweet friend, woe unto me and woe unto you when we believe ourselves to know better than God, when we choose our own will over His word!

Blessed are we indeed if we can make it through this life without at least once experiencing the darkness and gloom and chains of misery made by our own prideful thinking.

I wish that I could say I was one of those blessed few, but I have tangled myself up in the miserable chains of pride more than I have room in a post to discuss.

I imagine the same may be true for you as well.

Knowing that so many of us struggle with pride, how thankful we ought to be that God is so good to redeem us from the prisons of our own making!

In His great love for us, He disciplines us with hard times until we fall, our pride broken, and call out to Him, “Lord, help!”.

And He is faithful to break the chains of misery forged by our pride, to rescue us again and again.

There is no chain our great and mighty God won’t break, no prison wall He won’t tear down, no iron gate He won’t unhinge to redeem us from our rebellious nature and gather us to Himself.

Some were lost in the wilderness. Some sat in darkness and gloom.

All are redeemable by the blood of Jesus Christ, able to be rescued from the enemy again and again and again in this life, to be secured forevermore in the Lamb’s Book of Life (John 3:16-17; Galatians 3:13-14).

Has the Lord redeemed you from darkness and gloom, from chains of misery?

Speak out!

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story!

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