Imagine this, two prisoners are chained up in neighboring cells with only a thin wall to separate them. Each prisoner has a key, but it does not fit in to unlock their shackles. The prison Warden comes in every morning to mock their bondage, saying, “If only the prisoner in the cell behind that wall knew what you had done, they would vomit at the grotesqueness of your actions!” Because of this, both prisoners were inclined to stay silent for shame, and enmity with one another.
Every day they would hear the distinguishable sobbing behind their walls, but the muffled gall of the Warden in the next room. One day, one of them mustered up the courage to communicate with the other. The hesitant cell neighbors eventually confessed to each other what truth about their past and actions the Warden had spoken of them, and what was a farce. They even learned about each other’s keys. After much deliberating, the crazy idea sprung up that maybe their keys might work on each other’s chains. They chiseled out a crevice in the wall, and fed their keys through the hole. With one turn of the other’s key, their fetters sprung open.
Fate would have it that they just happened to be given the keys to each other’s chains,… or was it fate? Looking back, each prisoner received their keys long before their imprisonment. In fact, it was they that walked into the jail house seeking shelter. Afterward, the Warden seized them and introduced them to their homely abode. The scenario seemed scripted, as if it were intentionally methodical.
Armed with this knowledge, however, both of the prisoners went around the jail house spreading this news. Some of their keys unlocked other’s cells; some prisoners didn’t even know they had a key, much less one that could even unlock their own cell; some were not even chained up, but believed they were! In the end, most of the prisoners made it out, and the Warden made reservations to move his establishment.
The point is this: We are all prisoners to the flesh. We all have faults that are common to most people, but the devil comes in and makes us feel uniquely unredeemable, distinct in our stench and our crimes, however, we have a key. We have a key given to us by God. This key is the answer to a problem manifested in the flesh.
Everyone has gone through something, and has learned to overcome certain challenges, so, as a result, they have found their key. Sometimes we do not have the key to our own problems, however, in helping another, we may learn of their key. We try their key on our locks and, would you know it, it fits. The answer to every problem is Jesus, but sometimes the way we approach this spiritual walk, sometimes the way we think is deficient. Sometimes we need someone who has experienced this dilemma, which is brand new to us, to shed some light on what is really going on in the heart, mind, and body.
I would hope that we can be totally honest with one another, seeing that everyday we sit here and are prodded to be introspective and self-evaluating, and this is the way it should be, right? When we are asked, “Is there anything God is speaking to us about this past week” no one should be quiet because God is dealing with us all at every time in the day about something; we are not perfect beings. But sometimes our problems are too personal to share with a crowd, sometimes too personal to share with your closest friend.
But I implore you that if you are dealing with something, that something is not too personal to share with God. Maybe God is drawing you to someone with wisdom, so that you can learn from them. James 5: 14-16 says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Dark, personal demons are the deepest cause of dissension within the human mind, and they are also the most relatable. A majority of people stand accompanied, yet alone within themselves. The irony of the situation is that two people can ask each other how they are doing and both will reply, “good”, but both are struggling with the very same demon that threatens their very character and self-worth. Maybe you have each other’s key?
