Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom...for they had rebelled against the words of God... Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness...and broke away their chains. Psalm 107:10-14(NIV)
In the novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett there is a character who believes she is superior to the women who serve her. She is hateful, even to the point of having innocent women incarcerated. At the end of the book the wise protagonist rightly perceives that the awful "Miss Hilly" is the one in the darkest jail.
Self-constructed soul prisons are even more confining than the physical kind. There is no end to the prison sentence and no parole board.
Soul prisons are constructed from bricks of fear, of addiction, of bitterness... For years I suffered in a prison built of pride and the fear of abandonment.
I once had a friend whose husband had an affair with a woman in their neighborhood. My friend was quickly imprisoned by her own hatred for the neighbor who wronged her. At first her vengeance felt good. If she hadn't broken away from it, it would have kept her locked up for life.
Another woman I know is locked up by a ravenous need to be loved. On the surface she is a giver, but thinly masked by the veneer of sacrifice is a core of self-service.
Cannot Escape Alone
The only way to escape from a self-constructed prison is to cry to the lord. He can bring us out of the deepest gloom.
Prayer: Lord, I am in trouble again. I built a prison and now I am trapped in it. Free me Lord. Break away my chains. Amen
Work Cited: Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. New York: Amy Einhorn, 2009. Print."She in her own jail, but with a lifelong term." Kathryn Stockett, The Help
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