Trapped

Have you ever been stuck in a lift? It will go neither up nor down. None of the controls work and you’re in complete darkness. There is silence. Motionless and suspended in space, you are trapped and helpless. Panic sets in.

It may feel this way when we are walking through personal difficulties, as if our world is falling apart and there’s nothing we can do about it. We feel powerless to control the situation, and it can be very frightening.

It can seem that our life, or part of it, is collapsing around us. We might pray, “Dear Lord, please help.” We can look to the Scriptures for encouragement and read, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:7), and ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart..’ (Proverbs 3:5).

’Do not be anxious..’  but how do we avoid being anxious? Do we just turn off the tap and it stops? We may be bombarded with fearful possibilities. It’s important to stop and consider, and focus on Jesus. He is bigger than any problem. We can look towards God, the author and finisher of our faith, and gaze into His glory. We can step out of the darkness into His glorious light, and ask Him to help us see Him as He really is.

Paul and Silas had been stripped and beaten (Acts 16:22). They were severely flogged and thrown into prison with an armed guard. They were confined to a cell with their feet manacled in the stocks. But their thoughts were not for themselves. They had committed their lives to serve the living God. Nothing else mattered. Their lives were centred upon Him. God was greater than death. They did the only thing they knew. They spent their time worshipping and praising God. Nothing else had any significance. They knew God was with them.

The foundations of the prison shook, doors flew open and their chains fell to the floor. The guard was terrified. If his prisoners were to escape, he would be shown no mercy. Drawing his sword to kill himself, he saw Paul and Silas, praising God. His eternity was calling. He fell before Paul and Silas and pleaded, “What must I do to be saved?”

They replied with the profound truth that holds the power of life over death: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). These are the words of eternal life that open the door to glory - the glorious Light of Jesus Christ, revealing a pathway through the darkness into His presence.

Even in their ‘lift shaft’ they turned their hearts towards God in worship and praise, and found freedom and release.