Gratitude Beyond Bars

Psalm 118:21–26 / Philippians 1:12–19

11/16/25

                                                           Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

<Snowed-In and Shut-In>

Today we can’t have service in person due to snowstorms. It reminds me of one movie. Have you ever watched the old musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers? It is a fun movie that my family watches on snow days. In the story, seven young women and seven young men get trapped in the mountains after a huge snowstorm. They cannot leave. They cannot go anywhere. At first, it feels like a prison. But in that “snow prison,” something unexpected happens. Likewise, we can see how the Psalmist takes refuse in his snowstorm, and how Paul survived in his prison with gratitude and joy through today’s passages.

Thanksgiving Day is coming. It is a good time to look back over the year and give thanks for what the Lord has done. Psalm 118 teaches us that gratitude is not only for good days. It is also for the days when life feels like a prison we cannot escape.

 

<God Our Refuge>

The psalmist says, “I thank You that You have answered me and have become my salvation” (Ps. 118:21). He was pushed hard and almost fell (v. 13). He felt God’s discipline, yet he was not handed over to death (v. 18). We do not know what trouble he faced, but we do know this: God protected him, saved him, and gave him another chance. So he chose to find his refuge in the Lord rather than in people or princes.

He also gives thanks for what God has done. “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone” (vv. 22–23). God takes what looks useless and makes it central. This points to Jesus. People rejected Him and crucified Him, yet God made Him the cornerstone of salvation.

Howard Hendricks once said, “When I try, I fail. When I trust, God succeeds.” A life of faith is like a pilgrimage. When we try to control everything, we often end in failure. But when we trust the Lord and take refuge in Him, God brings success even in suffering.

So the psalmist sings, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (v. 24). Even a hard day can be a day of joy when God is our refuge. Verse 25 says, “O Lord, give success!” God is the One who blesses those who live in His name.

We also look back on our year. We faced hardship and pressure. Some of us felt pushed to the edge, just like the psalmist. Some felt rejected or forgotten. Some walked near the shadow of death. Yet here we stand today. God has been our refuge. God has lifted us from the pit. God has turned rejected stones into cornerstones. So we praise Him for His success in our lives.

 

<Rejoicing in Prison>

Philippians 1:12–19 gives us another picture of gratitude in a place of suffering. Paul wrote this joyful letter from a cold, dark prison. He could not move freely. He could not preach as he wanted. He had no control over his future. But Paul did not fall into despair. He did not give in to anger or self-pity. In this short letter, he speaks of joy again and again. And he urges the church to rejoice with him.

From a human view, Paul’s arrest looked like failure. His ministry looked interrupted. But Paul says something amazing in verse 12: “What has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel.” Most of us cannot say that when trouble hits. But Paul saw God’s work in his chains. Because he was in prison, other believers grew bold. And because he was chained to Roman guards, many heard the gospel for the first time. That seed of faith later reached the whole Roman Empire. What looked like a prison became a mission field.

 

<Gratitude in Weak Places>

I also experienced a kind of prison when I was diagnosed with cancer. I was shocked and confused. I had to pause ministry and be away from my children. I could not do anything I once did. But in that still place, God opened my eyes. He showed me grace through fear. He turned my scar into a reminder of Christ’s love. He gave me rest, shaped my life, and surrounded me with love from so many people in America and Korea. That is why I wrote the poem “My Small Cancer, My Big Gift.”

This year, many around us lived inside prisons of sickness, injury, or caregiving. I prayed for dear members who could not attend church because of illness or pain. It broke my heart to see them trapped in bodies that would not move. But through Psalm 118 and Philippians, God reminded me how He works in those hidden places.

Through the gift from Bridge to Hope, I listened to Penny’s story. When her mother died, she had almost no family. But now, as Ross is sick, she is surrounded by a great family in Christ. People pray for her, bring meals, offer rides, and help with what she cannot do. In her prison of sickness, she found deep joy and gratitude. And as Penny and Ross stepped back from ministry, others stepped forward. Children’s ministry, rides, food pantry, Sunday School—people filled every gap. God was raising new leaders in the very place of weakness.

I saw this again with Roberta. Some may see the nursing home as a kind of prison. But God turned that place into a center of ministry. Bible study, music worship, rides to church, and now even a card ministry with Karen from this Friday—God made a prison into a mission field. Karen is another wonderful model of how to live with gratitude beyond bars. I am amazed at how much she cares for others who care for her. She is not wheelchair prison, she spread the good news and love beyond all bars.  

 

<Gratitude Beyond Bars>

Even today, we are in a snowstorm. Many churches cannot gather. Our plans for United Women in Faith had to pause. But even this snowstorm is a shelter God gave us. Like the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a snowed-in moment can open doors for love and new beginnings.

They learn about each other. They grow. They forgive. They laugh. And they fall in love. What looked like a prison became a place where love began to bloom.

When we stop and grow quiet, God works in ways we cannot see.

So I ask gently:

What prison are you in today?

Illness? Caregiving? A tired soul? A lonely season? A place you did not choose?

Even if you cannot escape your situation, God can make your heart free. God can open your eyes. God can turn your prison into a place of grace. And God can use you to carry the gospel to people who are trapped in prisons of the soul.

My prayer is that we end this year like the psalmist and like Paul—people who give thanks behind bars. People who trust God’s success. People who rejoice in the day the Lord has made.

May we finish this year with gratitude, joy, and hope.

Lord,
Thank You for meeting us in every season—
even in the snowstorms, even in the prisons of life.
Open our eyes to see how You are working.
Grow love in the places that feel cold and closed.
Turn our fear into trust,
our weakness into Your strength,
and our prisons into places of grace.

As You brought love into a snowed-in cabin,
bring love into our homes, our church,
and our hidden struggles today.
Show us how You are working in the places we cannot escape.
Give us hope, joy, and grateful hearts behind every bar.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.