As Paul writes these words he is chained in a Roman dungeon under Nero, abandoned by companions, body battered by a system built to crush anyone who dared preach good news to the poor and freedom to the captive. But from the underside of power, Paul reveals where real power lives.
Paul doesn’t write “I know about Him” or “I believe in an idea.” He says, “I know Who I have believed in.” Liberation doesn’t come from doctrine recited from a safe distance—it comes from relationship with the One who stands in solidarity with the chained, the forsaken, the criminalized. The God of scripture has always shown up first in the dungeon, the slave quarters, the refugee camp—not in the halls of Caesar.
Remember Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail—beaten, humiliated, their bodies made an example by the state. They had no leverage, no bargaining chip, no appeal to file. But at midnight they sang, and they called on the name of the One who is not merely a dispenser of power but is power. The earthquake came. The chains fell. The doors flew open. That’s the pattern of God’s justice breaking into systems of bondage, whether those chains are Roman iron or any chain forged today by poverty, oppression, or despair.
This is the difference between the perception of power and power itself. Empires perform strength—armies, prisons, emperors. But real power sets captives free, lifts the lowly, and outlasts every throne. Paul had education, career, status, history—and he surrendered all of it, because none of it could keep him. Only the One who holds tomorrow could.
If you are in a dungeon—physical, financial, emotional, systemic—read Paul’s confession as your own: the chains are real, but they are not final. The God who split open a jail in Philippi is still in the business of liberation.
(We invite your comments. Feel free to share this devotion with your friends and invite them to subscribe by forwarding their email address to the Pastor at: fredjeffsmith@gmail.com.)
Mornings with Shiloh airs on WVLA Channel 33 each weekday at 6:58 a. m. CST. Mornings with Shiloh is available on our Youtube channel at 8:00 a.m. CST.
CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO ACCESS OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/@ShilohMBCBR/videos
Want to get more involved at Shiloh?
Browse our Ministries