“Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, 
    prisoners suffering in iron chains, 
because they rebelled against God’s commands 
    and despised the plans of the Most High. 
So he subjected them to bitter labor; 
    they stumbled, and there was no one to help. 
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, 
    and he saved them from their distress. 
He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, 
    and broke away their chains. 
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love 
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 
for he breaks down gates of bronze 
    and cuts through bars of iron.“

Psalm 107:10-16 

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AUGUST 20, 2025

A theme running through the entire Bible is our human tendency to rebel against God. Starting in Psalm 107:10, we catch a glimpse of people who are suffering for this very reason.  

Rebellion towards God puts us in a dark prison, binds us in chains of slavery of our own making. Rebellion towards God is everywhere and it’s not limited to any culture, age group, or status. There is even rebellion towards God sitting piously in church seats every Sunday morning.  

What is astonishing is how God responds. In our passage, it says that God bowed their hearts down with hard labor, with no one to help. I wonder if, out of love, God allows us to carry on in our rebellion until it gets so bad, so hard, so desperate that we cry out to God. And what happens when we cry out to God amid our rebellion and rejection? He rescues us from ourselves, from our slavery which we made with our own hands. He breaks the chains around our wrist which we cannot break even though we put them there. He rescues us from the darkness that we chose and the darkness that trapped us.  

Do you have any idea how hard it is to escape from our own sin? Romans 3:10-12 (and also Psalm 14 and 53) reminds us of this reality:  

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”  

No matter what our circumstances, the body of Christ throughout time and across the world always have reason to be joyful and to thank God with our whole selves—because we have been rescued from ourselves. 

Questions for reflection and discussion:  

  • Reflect on a time in your life when you were rebellious towards God. What was that like?  
  • What specific self-made darkness has the Holy Spirit freed you from? 
  • Spend some time in raw honesty before the Most Holy God and ask Him to reveal to you any ways in which you are living in rebellion against Him. Remember, you can’t hide. He already knows.  

Church Reading Plan: 1 Samuel 12; Romans 10