Panicked.
The world was hazy. With everything closing in, it was all she could do to keep her eyes open. She found herself pinned against a wall, chains on every limb. With her tiny hand, she bent it slightly, realizing it was all the movement she could gain. She was helpless and bound in the weight of an unknown world. She realized there was something in her hand, a hair pin, a key of sorts. Trying desperately to unlock her chains, she flailed her little hand, never thinking to cry out aloud, for no beings were in her sight. She was alone in her prison cell.
Determined.
In a land of a thousand trees, a darkened figure on a horse raced through with a pressing mission. There was something in the distance, a cry for help that was silenced by turmoil. The figure saw a type of injustice, as one would when seeing a human being in chains of slavery. There was a value to be seen, a freedom someone in the world desperately needed to experience.
Delivered.
The figure came upon a prison cell, sensing a heavy weight. Flinging it open, he found her. She fought him for control, she wanted to free herself. She could do this on her own, she knew it. After the figure allowed her to try her own way and make herself exhausted, she finally gave up. She surrendered. Swiftly and simply, the figure took the key and unlock her chains. He didn’t stop there. He didn’t simply unlock them, he destroyed them. She found emotions she never thought she would have again, a sense of relief. A sense of freedom. She could no longer have the title of “captive” or “slave.”
Isaiah 42:6-7 declares a parallel of this story:
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
Where there is a recognition of injustice, there is a recognition of value toward whom the injustice is being thrust upon. You, my sensible reader, would not witness slavery and think “That person’s chains automatically makes them invaluable.” Any human being with a decent heart would want to free them, to fight for their rights to life. You feel a sense of love for the person, though you hardly know them and they have never given you anything in return. In his book called Orthodoxy, GK Chesterton describes this innocent and free type of love:
“The point is not that this world is too sad to love or too glad not to love; the point is that when you do love a thing, its gladness is a reason for loving it, and its sadness a reason for loving it more.”
So it is with our Father’s view toward His children.
We have a value that demands rights. These rights must be exercised. The Lord wants us to have freedom, He values our rights or He would not have created them in the first place. I have been in chains and have been forced to accept the rescuing. I had to subject myself for a moment to be a sort of “damsel in distress”, though that goes against every fiber of my being. I had to have humility and admit I could no longer do this on my own. Once rescued, we experience a whole new world outside of our cell, so we in turn want others to discover that wonderful world, too. We never knows when someone else could be bound in chains.
Chains are precisely what this month has brought thus far. The Lord is releasing me from my own prison, so I may notice those who have lived there far longer than I. Among the Ngöbe-Buglé tribe in Panama, there is an unreached population, who have very primitive lifestyles. Their classrooms are bamboo sticks bound with twine, their walls are tin sheets. The houses are small tin, moldy wood, and concrete shacks, with very little clothing and supplies to fill the inside. The corruption is rampant. I have seen 12 year old girls with babies, and heard of 11 year old moms among them. According to our ministry host, 99% of girls and women in these tribes are sexually abused. It is evident on their faces. The men overpower the women and treat them very poorly. Women work all day cooking, cleaning, and taking care of babies. Women are very silent among the men, and it seems they are only objects to be whistled at and to have babies. The smell of urine wafts among the kids, and little babies sit in their urine for long periods of time waiting to be cleaned. Babies are taking care of babies and the toddler is trusted with the 1 year old. How many chains are these people in? Twelve people spread the gospel all over the world. Can a few people bring it here? These people are bound up to their neck, with no idea of real freedom or life outside their small tribe. They are trapped. They are hated by the others in Panama, and the government is corrupt and ignores them. I ask the Lord if He will also come to them, fighting for their freedom and unlocking their chains. Is there is a liberation that is about to begin in Panama?
I’m convinced that love is bound. We put it in a little box and keep it there, never allowing it to permeate the room, never letting it spread its goodness through the world. Love Himself is too big to be bound. Love Himself created the universe, and His great love is in all things. It’s easy for me to think that God could never change this whole country, no way can He love like that. No way can He love such a village that is so corrupt. Yet, I want to believe that God is riding His horse through the mountains to free one person at a time. I can see the process has already begun. Girls we work with have been rescued from their villages and put in a children’s home where they can learn English and valuable life skills to prepare them for a future. While my team was teaching them computer coding this evening, I prayed for these girls to be the generation of change for this country. I prayed for them to go out into the world to share that we are chosen to be a part of God’s kingdom. I could picture them going back to their villages and changing the corruption. Though women are not prized in this society, 1 Corinthians 1:27 is very clear that God uses the weak to shame the strong. So I am left with the challenge of this: “Will I continue to believe this scripture, even if the words are not fulfilled in my lifetime?” Plenty of prophets in the Bible prophesied about Jesus, but did not live long enough to see it. They thrived on the hope of the Lord. In my questioning, I can only turn to the Word and come to a conclusion:
Those who hope in the Lord will never be put to shame.
Continue hoping. Continue in steadfastness. Continue in grace. Continue in love.
~Mary Beth
