“He took him aside, away from the crowd.” Mark 7: 33
“Why has God set me aside? All I want to do is to serve Him whole heartily, though I am forced to be physically separated from my brothers and sisters in body of Christ. All I seem to be ‘allowed’ to do is go to Dr. appointments, and occasionally do I get to go to church! I feel like a caged bird, a prisoner in my own body, a captive to my circumstances. Why God, Why this? How long, O God?”
Sound familiar? Today, I am speaking to my fellow brothers and sisters who are confined in some way. Your isolation is probably physical but it may be mental or emotional. It’s one thing to be able to withstand intensive work or effort, coupled with severe suffering… but we can totally break down if we have to endure long periods, even years of solitary confinement!
Let’s look at the life of the apostle Paul. He withstood tests that came while being active in his service to Christ. But he also withstood the tests of solitude the many occasions that he was imprisoned. Have you noticed how he handled it? He shows us a new level of existence in this thing called life… he shows us how to look over the walls of our prison and over the heads of our enemies – take a look at how he signed his letters… not as the prisoner of Festus, nor of Caesar, not the injured party of the Sanhedrin, but as “A prisoner for the Lord.” Paul saw the hands of God at work. Yeah, even though he was forced from doing the missionary work he loved, he turned prison into a new pulpit. From his place of bondage and dark shadows arose some of the most precious messages of light we have today. Also think of the many saints who have followed in the footsteps of Paul…
Taken aside by Jesus,
To feel the touch of His hand;
To rest for a while in the shadow
Of the Rock in a weary land.
Taken aside by Jesus,
In the loneliness dark and drear,
Where no other comfort may reach me,
Than His voice to my heart so dear.
Taken aside by Jesus,
To be quite alone with Him,
To hear His wonderful tones of love
‘Mid the silence and shadows dim.
Taken aside by Jesus,
Shall I resist the desert place,
When I hear as I never heard before,
And see Him “face to face?”
~ S.C. Rees