Are You Feeling Defeated? [Psalm 102]

What I am about to write about in this post is from my own personal experiences.  Often times in life when we experience hardships, our first response might be to question God.  Questions like, "why is this happening to me?" or "what did I do to deserve this?"  After this phase, we then might fall into the trap of self pity, resentment, and even bitterness towards the Lord.

I urge you to be cautious of falling into this trap and instead spend time evaluating and reflecting on your life.

Are you following after the Lord and seeking His will or are you seeking your own will and your desires?  It is true that the Lord gives us free will to make our own choices, but every choice comes with consequences, whether those consequences are good or bad.

Going back years ago, I made a series of bad choices that led me straight into an invisible prison.  Though it was invisible, it was very much real.  I was bound by spiritual chains that could not be broken by my own strength.

Let us now turn our attention to Psalm 107:10-20.


I was in prison, suffering in deepest darkness because I was leading a life of rebellion against the Lord and Jesus.  I knew what I was doing was wrong and I was paying a very steep price for it.  It cost me my peace, joy, and  happiness.  But looking back on everything, I blame only myself.  I offer only thanks and gratitude to God for pulling me out of that dark and lonely pit (Psalm 40), freeing me from the prison I was trapped inside.

I was bound in chains and my only hope of being rescued was by the mercy and kindness of Jesus Christ.

So at this point you might be wondering, "Okay, what changed?  How were you freed from your prison and your chains?"  Those are vital questions to ask because we can do nothing without the Lord and salvation and grace belong to the Lord.

After a series of (unfortunate) events, the Lord opened my eyes and started to draw me to Himself.  I had the desire to start reading my Bible again and I started reading it feverishly!  I couldn't get enough of it.  I began reading it day and night.  I started praying constantly, pleading to Jesus, asking for forgiveness and asking for His peace.

The Bible says the Lord makes Himself searchable for those who genuinely seek Him and I am living proof that this is true.  The Lord heard my prayers and my cries for help and He rescued me from my prison.  He broke the chains of my oppression and replaced them with a peace that exceeds all human understanding.

If what I've written hits close to home with you, if you've found yourself in a dark, lonely place in life, it's time to start evaluating your life.  If you feel far away from the Lord, I can guarantee you it is a direct consequence from choices you made in life that led you down a path leading you away from Him.

Always remember that the Lord gives us free will but if we choose a life of sin, the Lord will not be a part of that and He certainly won't bless it.  However, if we choose to turn back to Him, and genuinely seek Him, repent and ask for forgiveness, He will rescue us from the prisons we built for ourselves.  There is no chain too strong or a prison too secure for the Lord to break.

Are you tired of feeling weary, heavy-burdened, and beaten down?  Cry out to the Lord today.  Our Heavenly Father longs to hear from us and wants nothing more than to free you from your prison and give you a peace you never thought possible.