Prisoners of Hope

UV 409/10,000 Prisoners of Hope Zechariah 9 v 12 Zec 9:12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee Our stronghold is the Lord Himself. Right through the day and through our lives, we must keep turning or returning to Him to renew our hope, to strengthen our faith, to reinforce our commitment and to reaffirm our personal relationship with Him. Our hope is in the Lord and His promises to us. Without hope, we become like dried bones. Without hope we are effectively reduced to a skeletal existence- existing but barely existing. But, Christ in us is the hope of the glory that is yet to be revealed to our physical eyes but are visible to our eye of faith. That hope gives us newness and fullness of life as well as joy and strength in the present moment to endure some momentary trials and troubles for His sake as His prisoners. Remembering the various manifestations of grace and mercy of the Lord in our lives when we were as constrained as prisoners of the world gives us further hope and confidence in the Lord as our Redeemer. A prisoner moves from one day to another in the hope that he would one day be released. Even the one on death row holds the hope against hope that he might receive clemency, that he might be pardoned and set free. Similarly, though we are imprisoned in our earthly bodies and caught in the systems of the world, we live with hope that the Lord, who has promised to release us from all our captivities, will set us free. The words in the Uni-verse “ even today” emphasizes that the Lord is acting in our lives to sustain and enhance our hope and faith in the present moment, the hour of need at the point of need and not just in some distant or remote future after our earthly sojourns. I recall during a visit to the Central jail telling the prisoners that every one including those who were outside prison were also prisoners of a different kind. Many of our past sins, fears, guilt and worries take control of our minds and become strongholds in their own right. It is the Word of God that breaks these powerful sources of conditioning and brings about transformation in our perspectives, priorities, choices and habits. A prisoner is set free, only to find that when he is out of jail, he is confronted by the harsh realities of the world. He is homeless, friendless and he is shunned by even his kith and kin. He is not sure what he needs to do to pick up the broken threads of his life. Inside prison he at least knew what awaited him each day. But, the Lord promises that he will render double portion of blessing compared to yesteryears. Instead of shame and confusion, we will have clarity of vision, honour and redoubled strength, everlasting joy and a double portion of anointing. Prateep V Philip