To Whom Has God “Chained” You?

You probably know that Paul wrote a number of New Testament epistles to the churches while he was imprisoned in Rome. You may not know that he was chained to a rotating schedule of Roman soldiers, day and night, the entire time.

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:3-6)

Imagine what it was like to be one of the Roman soldiers chained to Paul. Each man would have seen Paul visit with others, encouraging and challenging them. These soldiers were present while Paul prayed and interceded for the new Christian churches, and watched him write out the letters to the Galatians, Philippians, Ephesians, and Colossians. Each one would have heard the story of Jesus Christ, crucified as a their sins, raised from the dead, and Lord of Lords.

They didn’t have any choice but to hear and see, because they were chained to God’s man for hours every day. That’s why Paul asked the Colossians and Ephesians to pray for him, so that he would proclaim the Gospel clearly.

We can only speculate how God may have used this influence on these guards for good, through many generations. How many were gloriously converted? How many family members and fellow soldiers heard about Jesus this way – and about living an abundant life of love in the Holy Spirit?

I’m looking forward to hearing more of these stories when we get to heaven.

But what about your situation? Are there people who are chained to you?

Oh, I don’t mean chains of iron. I’m talking about forced relationships that you didn’t happily “volunteer” for. (I doubt Paul volunteered to be a prisoner in Rome for years.) Perhaps you have neighbors, co-workers, even extended family relationships that strain you. You don’t naturally gravitate to these people because you want to spend more time with them, but God in His sovereignty has set up the arrangement so you must be with them.

Now you can fight and resist and be resentful (though it won’t help.) Or you can recognize that God has arranged circumstances so that they come into His sphere of influence through you! You are His ambassador in “chains,” my friend!

Let us follow Paul’s example and pray that we will be good ambassadors for Jesus, especially in these situations:

“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 6:19-20)

In God’s grace, we look forward to future days when we see how God has used us to influence many, many people – even those He had to chain to us to arrange for the Gospel to go forward.