Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Psalm 107:1-2, 10-14 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so. ... Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
REDEMPTION REVEALED TO THOSE IN DARKNESS AND PRISON
Have you ever been on one of those guided tours of a number of caves around our country, like Mammoth Cave, Carlsbad Caverns, or Niagara Cave? Usually, at some point during the tour, the guides will turn out the lights and you cannot see anything, not even your hand in front of your face. It is a frightening feeling!
So much of wrongdoing, or evil, is committed in the darkness of night or in a dimly lit room. The devil is the ruler of darkness. It is his domain. He lives to drag sinners down with him. All too often we fall to his temptations and find ourselves stumbling around in the darkness of sin, rebelling against the words of God and spurning the counsel of the Most High.
The Apostle John writes: "In [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:4-5). When all the world sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, God revealed our redemption! He sent the light of the world to rescue lost sinners from the darkness-- to free us all from the slavery of sin.
So often in our lives, we find ourselves failing God. But we can rejoice, because God promises that He will never fail us! When your heart is bowed down with hard labor; when you fall down with none to help, cry out to the Lord! Without fail, God delivers those in darkness and prison from their distress!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
