Gratitude From the Dungeon

Daily Devotional – Thursday, August 28, 2025
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)

Compared to my local congregation, the prison flock I minister to regularly is more joyous and optimistic. Despite being behind bars, these inmates sing with faith and emotion. Their sense of appreciation for God is palpable even behind concrete walls.

Give Thanks in all Circumstances

John, not his real name, once confessed, “I thank God for allowing me to come to prison. I would probably be dead by mob justice or a police bullet! This prison is a safe haven for me.” Many prisoners would rather focus on the restrictive and harsh life inside jail and blame God in the process.

Well, it’s all a matter of attitude. The prisoner who looks around for reasons (or excuses) to grumble will find plenty of them in his circumstances. Similarly, the man who looks for God’s footprints, even in the worst of circumstances, will find them.

Gratitude From the Dungeon

No one less than a prisoner for Christ wrote to the Thessalonians many years ago and urged them to give thanks to God in all circumstances. From years of walking with God and from hindsight, Apostle Paul knew that God was in control even in negative circumstances.

You may not be a prisoner, like Paul and my friends in jail, but your life may feel like being in a dungeon. However, when you remember that God is watching over you and no hardship comes without His knowledge. That is when your dungeon becomes your source of testimonies of gratitude to God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, during the times when my life feels like a prison and there appears to be no way out, fill me with your presence and let my gratitude arise to You because I know You are in control.