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Have you ever felt like there was "NO WAY OUT?" Hello fellow bigchurch members. I just read a wonderful article from discipleship journal by Jeris E. Bragan and I just wanted to share it with you. I hope you are all blessed and encouraged by it. No Way Out? Send this article Printer friendly When you’re trapped in a rotten situation, try these five keys to freedom. Jeris E. Bragan Issue 57 May/June 1990 The heavy steel door slammed shut behind me. I heard the lock click into place for the first time on Thursday, September 15, 1977, at 8:45 p.m. I walked across the cell toward the window, straining to look out through the bars over the dark skyline I knew so well. The words of the judge echoed in my mind like thunder “Jeris E. Bragan, on verdict of the jury finding you guilty of murder in the first degree, it is the judgment of the court that you are guilty of that offense. You are sentenced, therefore, to ninety-nine years in the state penitentiary.” The smooth administration of justice was marred by one ugly flaw: I wasn’t guilty. Life can be brutally unfair. When our souls are ravaged during times of grief and anguish, we all ask the “Why?” questions. For months after my conviction I asked them in a thousand different ways–at times thoughtfully, at times in great anger, bitterness, and self-pity. Then I read again the powerful story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50 ) from the fresh perspective of my prison cell. That led me to focus on the issue of suffering with a different starting point: How do we, like Joseph, begin life again when our freedom, relationships, hopes, finances, or health are seized in the cruel jaws of suffering? How do we cope? How do we find a path beyond prison walls of suffering when it seems there’s just no way out? While trapped behind my prison walls, I’ve discovered in my study of the Bible–particularly the story of Joseph–five keys to freedom that lead to release and renewal. You may never live in a prison made of steel like mine–or like Joseph’s. But a broken marriage, a hospital bed, poverty, despair, lost dreams–these are very real prisons. They’re every bit as confining, isolating, and demoralizing as my own. No matter who you are or what your circumstances, you too can use these keys to step out into the freedom that transcends the worst adversity. "You’re free to have faith in God." For most people, faith in a loving, gracious God is challenged most violently in the bitter acid bath of actual, personal suffering. Few people have had their faith tested more bitterly than Joseph. He was Jacob’s favorite , a pampered rich until he was sold into Egyptian slavery at age seventeen by his jealous brothers. While enslaved to Potiphar, the Egyptian king, his suffering turned even more wretched. Potiphar’s wife tried unsuccessfully to seduce him and then falsely accused him of . In spite of his innocence, he was thrown into prison. Faith is easy under sunny skies, when we’re surrounded on all sides by family, loving friends, success, and prosperity. But what does that faith mean to us when the storms begin to rage–when everything we’ve ever loved and believed in is suddenly and violently swept away? What do we say of God when His voice is thunderously silent in the face of our suffering? Clarence Jordon translates Heb. 11:1 with penetrating insight: “Now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds. It is betting your life on the unseen realities, and by so relating our lives we become aware that history is woven to God’s design.” Knowing that our individual histories are “woven to God’s design” is the beginning of a mature, adult faith. From age seventeen to thirty, Joseph was put through the proverbial meat-grinder. Whatever could go wrong, did! Yet two astonishing themes dominate his story during those dark and difficult days. One is implicit throughout the story: his uncompromising trust in God. The second is spelled out clearly: “But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him” (Gen. 39:20-21 ). During grim years of great emotional and spiritual pain, from one day to the next Joseph didn’t have any idea what the future held for him. He had no way of knowing in his prison cell that the day would come when he’d see how God’s grace had turned all the evil he endured into good (Gen. 45  , Gen. 50:20 ).But Joseph’s faith freed him in the midst of painful circumstances because he knew by faith that God held his future securely in His hands. His life was “woven to God’s design.” Faith is the God-shaped lens through which we filter and then interpret the events of life. It’s through the eyes of faith that we find meaning in our circumstances. Faith gives us the vision to see possibilities for grace amid the most bitter pain. It frees us to create content out of chaos, to change stumbling blocks into stepping stones. Faith is the first key to the doors of our imprisonment. "You’re free to accept your circumstances." A woman went to her pastor for counseling after a long series of tragic events in her life. Caught in the web of suffering, she kept asking, “Why has God allowed this to happen to me?” Nothing her pastor said could get her to take one step beyond her pain. As the months passed, her questions turned increasingly bitter. Finally, the pastor resorted to some tough love. “Tell me something,” he asked. “What’s so special about you that you thought you’d get through life without any real suffering?” Stunned, the woman stormed out of his office. After some reflection, however, she realized he wasn’t being cruel. He wanted her to face the fact that life has rough edges, and nobody is exempt from pain. Joseph discovered early on that life’s rough edges cut deep into the soul. Who would have blamed him if he had tried to escape, or surrendered his life to the poverty of bitterness and hostility? But how different life would be today if he had! Egypt, the cradle of Western civilization, would have been destroyed in the famine. Joseph’s family would have died. No Moses. No Exodus. No Israel. Faith freed Joseph to accept his difficult circumstances. People who choose faith can accept suffering without bitterness because they know that when God leads us into suffering it is to stretch us, to enlarge us to receive more of His gifts of grace. Without the lens of faith to filter all the random and destructive events of life, however, we’re left blind to God’s saving action in our lives, and we never discover the reality that “all things work together for good for those who love God and are willing to fit into His plans” (Ro. 8:28 ). Accepting our situation doesn’t mean enjoying it; it simply means putting a period after a finished sentence. Taking this step is the second key to freedom, allowing us to get on with living, laughing, and loving again when the time for grieving has passed. "You’re free to choose your response." A major-league baseball umpire had a reputation forsaking his time when calling a pitch behind the plate. Seconds would drag on before he bellowed, “Ball!” or “Strike!” One day as the delays got longer, the manager of a losing team finally exploded. Livid, he stormed up out of the dugout, screaming, “Are ya blind? What is it?” The umpire stood up and glared at the furious manager. “It ain’t nothing until I call it something!” he roared. I had to discover the umpire’s wisdom for myself one day while making a phone call. Without warning, a particularly vicious and sadistic jailer jerked the receiver out of my hand and slammed it down. He cursed me in the most colorful terms, baiting me, challenging me to respond. Other prisoners stood nearby, watching in amusement, looking for a fight. My fists balled. Blood pounded like base drums in my skull. Suddenly I experienced one of those rare flashes of spiritual illumination. I realized that everything, including my life, could be taken away from me in this prison–except one thing: my freedom to choose my response to what happened to me. Nobody could take that away unless I permitted it. This realization lanced the boil of my anger. I burst out laughing and walked away. Transcendent freedom can be unnerving because of the responsibility that comes with it. Excuses are gone. We have nobody to blame for how we feel or behave. Our responses to all of life’s blessings or blisters are ours to do with as we choose. “It ain’t nothing until I call it something!” is the way Joseph lived. Although betrayed by his brothers, he chose to accept quietly his role as a slave in Potiphar’s house. His faith and courage was obvious to those who observed him. Betrayed and brutalized again by false charges of , Joseph still refused to surrender the control of his life. He accepted his circumstances with dignity and got on with the business of living. And “the warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did” (Gen. 39:23 ). Joseph wasn’t willing to squander precious energy resources on resentment, anger, or self-pity. Instead, he accepted and focused on what he had to work with. This action is a third key that opens the prison door another crack. "You’re free to act." “People who say it can’t be done are always being interrupted by somebody doing it!” my father used to say. He believed possibilities for success and achievement existed in the midst of the worst problems. Margaret Sharp, age seventy-nine, came to visit me at the jail a few months after my conviction. “What are you gonna do here?” she asked. “You gotta be kidding!” I snapped irritably. “What am I supposed to do in a place like this?” I couldn’t see beyond my isolation and discouragement. A person who loved me less might have indulged my self-pity. Not Margaret! “You can do anything you want,” she replied bluntly. “Why don’t you use some of your intelligence and finish college? You’ve got time to read, study, and think. I’ve seen your writing, so get to work and write!” In less than five minutes she ticked off enough work to keep me busy for the next twelve years–literally! “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,” she added (Ecc. 9:10 ). I followed her advice. Not because I liked it or because it was easy, but because I needed to do something to shake off the gloomy, suffocating shackles of meaninglessness in my life. Since then I’ve read hundreds of books, finished a B.A. degree, published two books and scores of articles, and taken the first steps toward earning an M.A. degree in pastoral counseling. Joseph’s story reminds me of an old saying: Christians are like teabags– they’re not worth much until they get into hot water. But it’s not the hot water that matters; it’s how we choose to act when we find ourselves in it. When confined behind prison walls of circumstances, our freedom to act is usually limited. But opportunity for action in some form is always available to those who “wait upon the Lord” for direction. God provided Joseph with freedom to act in the dungeon when the king’s baker and cupbearer came to him with their dreams. He could have dismissed them–after all, didn’t he have enough problems of his own? Instead, he listened and responded to their need to understand the meaning of their dreams. The cupbearer was overjoyed to hear he would soon be restored to the king’s service. “But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharoah and get me out of this prison,” Joseph told him (Gen. 40:14 ). But the cupbearer forgot all about Joseph–for two more years! Nevertheless, Joseph’s life was ultimately blessed because he turned the fourth key of action on his prison doors. "You’re free to love." The most liberated and loving people I know are those who have been deeply wounded by others. There is something about being stripped to the bone of the soul, left only with raw spiritual resources for survival, that can lead to growth in our capacity to love. Joseph went through the ultimate test of his willingness to love graciously when the famine worsened and the brothers who had sold him into slavery came to Egypt to buy grain. Fifteen years had passed. Their brother had grown into manhood, so they didn’t recognize him. He was the second most powerful man in Egypt. He could have had them executed on the spot for what they did to him. Instead, he tested them to find out what kind of men they had become. Only when they showed their willingness to sacrifice their lives for another brother did Joseph reveal himself to them and extend forgiveness for what they’d done to him. Bob, a friend of mine and a committed Christian, is a tough, fiercely competitive ex-Marine whose construction business was nearly wiped out when a trusted employee embezzled huge sums to cover gambling debts. Nobody was surprised when Bob had the thief prosecuted and imprisoned. But friends were dumbfounded three years later when they learned Bob had given financial aid to the thief’s family, visited him in prison, and then helped him get back on his feet with a new job when he got out. “Why would you do that for a person who caused you so much grief and pain?” I asked. Bob smiled ruefully. “At first I wanted to shoot him!” he admitted. “But one morning I read the words of Jesus for family devotions: ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’” (Mt. 5:43-44 ). “But Dad,” Bob’s ten-year-old interrupted, “does that mean we’re supposed to love a man who stole from us?” “Well,” Bob continued, “it was then that I realized this is where the rubber meets the road in my life as a Christian. I knew God had given me loving grace and forgiveness for my sins. But here I was harboring hatred and vengeance for a man who sinned against me. I was trapped in a worse prison than my ex-employee.” Blessed with rare wisdom, Bob, like Joseph, discovered real love is more than convenient, self-serving sentimentality; it’s an uncompromising commitment to another’s growth, welfare, fulfillment, and happiness–to that person’s ultimate redemption. Not because it’s deserved, but because it’s needed. That’s agape love. Joseph’s love for others wasn’t contingent upon how they treated him– whether they were his jealous brothers, Potiphar’s malicious wife, or a fellow prisoner who forgot him. He saw people as God sees them; wounded sinners afflicted with guilt and in need of redemptive grace. His love was action-based, rooted in God’s love for him and motivated by God’s command to love others. He was a living mediator of grace–a pre-advent Savior–and all who came near him were warmed and renewed by that loving grace. The former embezzler of Bob’s business, overcome by what he experienced in Bob’s offer of forgiveness, is today an active Christian who devotes many hours each week to working with others addicted to gambling. Bob says his own life was transformed by this experience. “I can’t explain why, but I’m much closer to people now,” he told me recently. “It’s easier for me to communicate real warmth and affection to my wife, , and friends.” He paused and then smiled. “Love doesn’t make the world go around, like the song says, but it sure makes the trip worthwhile, especially during tough times!” There is enough pain and suffering in human existence to leave us wondering at times if life is anything more than a cruel joke. Sooner or later everyone feels the biting sting of suffering’s lash. You’re probably not living in prison right now. But perhaps you are imprisoned by painful circumstances–a career demolished on the rocks of vicious gossip; a relationship sabotaged by betrayal; crumbling financial security; health crippled by disease; the loss of a loved one. When Joseph confronted his prison walls, he discovered that real courage is a three-letter word: y-e-s. He said Yes! to faith, even when God’s voice seemed silent. He said Yes! to acceptance, even though he didn’t deserve anything that happened to him. He said Yes! to life’s tough choices, even in the midst of loss and great pain. He said Yes! to action, even though that meant cheerfully doing what was demanded of him by a slave master and prison warden. And he said Yes! to love, even when confronted with malice, cruelty, and hatred. These are the keys to freedom beyond the prison walls of suffering. Slip them into the locked doors of your life, and you will find God leading you down a path of renewal you never dreamed possible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About the Author Jeris E. Bragan is serving his sentence in the Tennessee State Prison. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Your Own Breaking Free Is there a situation in your life right now that seems like a prison? How might you apply each of the five “keys to freedom,” and what changes might occur if you did? Faith Acceptance Choosing a response Action Love |
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10/23/2005 9:26 pm |
hello, good day to u over there? hope u are having a nice time with yourself, well am prince patrick by name, 55yrs old, am from uk, am a widower. i will like u to mail me privately at BigChurch bcos am not a regular subscriber in this place. hope to hear from u as soon as possible. stay kool & bye.
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11/26/2005 3:21 am |
Dear sister Thank you so very much for going to the trouble of putting that down on a blog. Surely you didnt type it all? If you did then you deserve a medal. I really enjoyed the article and it gives a fresh perspective on the story of Joseph and the daily freedoms we have in Christ. And I know I need to use those keys to unlock the locked doors in my life. I have felt greatly encouraged reading blogs so much I have put one on myself. God bless you Maxjn316
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