There was a time when every one of us lived in darkness. The apostle Paul said he once lived apart from law (Romans 7:9), which meant that he was innocent and sinless (Romans 5:13). The only time that Paul could have been innocent and sinless was when he was a child. All of us were innocent and sinless when we were children, but at some point, we grew mature enough to be responsible for our actions. At that point, sin became alive, and we died (Romans 7:9). Before becoming a Christian, a person is dead in his or her transgressions (Colossians 2:13).
In Psalm 107:10, the psalmist gives a perfect description of the life of every person before he or she becomes a Christian. We all lived in darkness and the shadow of death. We were prisoners in misery and chains. Sometimes it feels like we still are. Life can sometimes be just that miserable. And it was our own fault! In Psalm 107:11, we read that this condition is because: “…they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High.” Sometimes even Christians rebel against the words of God and spurn the counsel of the Most High. When that happens, we find ourselves right back in misery and chains.
Psalm 107:12 says there are consequences to our actions. The consequence of the actions of rebellion is suffering. As long as the rebellion continues, there is no way out. We may be able to find temporary solutions that make us feel better, but without submission to replace the rebellion, there is no real, lasting solution. We stumble and there is no one to help. The only effective solution is to cry out to the Lord. The New Testament is full of passages that tell us the details involved in crying out to the Lord. And when we do that, according to His conditions, He will save us from our distress (Psalm 107:13).
In bringing us out of our distress, God brings us out of darkness and the shadow of death, and He breaks our bands apart (Psalm 107:14). Let’s give thanks, indeed! I know that the comparison to be made here is really about our conversion, but this passage ought to give us strength and encouragement when we realize that our Father continues to do these things. What things? He still shatters the gates of bronze and cuts bars of iron asunder (Psalm 107:16). He is still that strong! There is nothing in creation that has, since the psalmist wrote this psalm, become strong enough to withstand my God! It is still true that if God is for us, no one can stand against us successfully (Romans 8:31). Nothing can separate us from the love of God; nothing, that is, except our own stubbornness. The psalmist said it: there is no remedy to our situation, to our sufferings and affliction, without God. Don’t even try to solve it without God’s help. Submit yourself to Him, obey His will and just watch the chains fall away. He loves you and so do I.
Donnie Bates