The Power of Isolation

The Power of Isolation

Words of Faith 11-3-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

www.faithfellowshipweb.com

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Revelation 1

    [9]  I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

      Where was John? The island of Patmos is a very lovely place today. It is a beautiful Greek isle with a harbor shaped like a heart. Visitors are greeted by charming residents of the island who are eager to see visitors.

      But in the first century AD, Patmos was a prison island used for Roman exile. It was not a prison with bastions and cells. It was a place isolation intended to silence political enemies.

      Located about 27 miles southwest of Miletus in the Icarian Sea, it was used by the Emperor to banish enemies. With few forms of communication, Emperor Domitian sent John there to silence his preaching of God's Word and the Gospel of Jesus.

        Even in his older years, John had been faithful, unequivocal, and uncompromising in bringing the Truth that sets people free. Many think that Domitian did not execute John because it would have made the Christian movement even more powerful.

       According to the historian Eusebius, John was on Patmos for about 18 months. Surely many believers grieved this imprisonment. The amazing thing was what the Lord brought out of it. This time of sequestered solitude set the stage for John to receive the fifth book of the Bible that would come through his mind and heart from the Lord.

       We go through tough times and adversity. Many have gone through lock-down and quarantine in recent months. We may even wonder why God has allowed a certain set of circumstances to linger. God can use such circumstances powerfully.

       We may also wonder what God is expecting from us as we grow older. The book of Revelation is a testimony that God is never done with us as long as we continue to draw breath. God still has things in mind. God still has places for us to go and thoughts for us to write down. A time sequestered, or locked-down or other adversity can actually be a marvelous place for God to be at work in us and through us.

        What is God doing in your circumstance? What is the Lord achieving in our time?

       Lord, I know you have numbered my days. Use my days carefully. Plan my encounters and my times of solitude. Use me to for Your Kingdome. In Jesus’ Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.