「耶穌暗暗的領他離開群眾，到一邊去。」－馬可福音7:33
也許我們能在劇烈的勞動下安然自處，但當我們停下所有活動，安靜地坐在牢中時，我們可能便因此崩潰。
獄中的保羅，是他生活的另一面。你想知道他如何面對嗎？
他的目光飛越了監牢的銅牆，飛越了仇敵惡者的頭頂；他在一封封書信上的署名不是非斯都的囚犯、該撒的囚犯，也不是猶太法庭下的受害者，而是「基督耶穌的囚犯」。
他在一切事上都見到了神的手；對他來說，監獄也成了宮殿，走道上迴盪著得勝的讚美與喜樂。
再想想在保羅之後入獄的聖徒們吧…
本仁約翰在貝德福監獄中十二年的緘默時期，完成了他一生最偉大，使他名流千古的名著《天路歷程》－一本僅次於聖經銷售量的暢銷書。他說：「獄中的生活如同在家；我一坐來就無法停止寫作，喜樂督促我不斷地寫下去。」漫長黑夜裡他那奇異幻彩的夢境，成了無數天路旅客指路的明燈。
另外一位屬靈生命芬芳甘甜的蓋恩夫人，也在獄中熬過了月月年年。有些鳥兒在鳥籠中，反而會傳出更悅耳的歌聲。蓋恩夫人靈中悠揚的樂音，也裊裊盪出鐵璧牆垣，驅散許多淚人兒心中難言的悲苦寂寞。
哦，那從靜謐裡所傾洩出的，是何等屬天的安慰啊！
－李斯
"And he took him aside from the multitude" (Mark 7:33).Paul not only stood the tests in Christian activity, but in the solitude of captivity. You may stand the strain of the most intense labor, coupled with severe suffering, and yet break down utterly when laid aside from all religious activities; when forced into close confinement in some prison house.
That noble bird, soaring the highest above the clouds and enduring the longest flights, sinks into despair when in a cage where it is forced to beat its helpless wings against its prison bars. You have seen the great eagle languish in its narrow cell with bowed head and drooping wings. What a picture of the sorrow of inactivity.
Paul in prison. That was another side of life. Do you want to see how he takes it? I see him looking out over the top of his prison wall and over the heads of his enemies. I see him write a document and sign his name--not the prisoner of Festus, nor of Caesar; not the victim of the Sanhedrin; but the--"prisoner of the Lord." He saw only the hand of God in it all. To him the prison becomes a palace. Its corridors ring with shouts of triumphant praise and joy.
Restrained from the missionary work he loved so well, he now built a new pulpit--a new witness stand--and from that place of bondage come some of the sweetest and most helpful ministries of Christian liberty. What precious messages of light come from those dark shadows of captivity.
Think of the long train of imprisoned saints who have followed in Paul's wake. For twelve long years Bunyan's lips were silenced in Bedford jail. It was there that he did the greatest and best work of his life. There he wrote the book that has been read next to the Bible. He says, "I was at home in prison and I sat me down and wrote, and wrote, for joy did make me write."
The wonderful dream of that long night has lighted the pathway of millions of weary pilgrims. That sweet-spirited French lady, Madam Guyon, lay long between prison walls. Like some caged birds that sing the sweeter for their confinement, the music of her soul has gone out far beyond the dungeon walls and scattered the desolation of many drooping hearts.
Oh, the heavenly consolation that has poured forth from places of solitude!--S. G. Rees
