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Can loving God turn a prison into a palace? It did for Madam Guyon. In 1698 she was placed in a dungeon in the dreaded French prison known as the Bastille. Earlier, while in another prison for her religious beliefs, her enemies attempted to poison her, for which she suffered seven years of poor health. While in prison, Madam Guyon prayed, praised, and penned volumes of poems and books relating her deeper experiences with God.
As a young woman living in Paris, Madam Guyon lived a life of worldliness and pleasure. She married a rich man twice her age, but shortly after the birth of her son, her husband lost a great part of his wealth. Soon after that Madam Guyon became sick – and nearly died. Out of this experience she found God to be more real than all earthly possessions.
A Franciscan monk led her to see that true religion was a matter of faith and trust in God’s love and goodness. This realization caused such a rest to her soul that she wrote:
"I love God far more that the most affectionate lover among men loves the object of his earthly attachment. This love of God occupied my heart so constantly and strongly that it was very difficult for me to think of anything else. Nothing else seemed worth attention. The amusements and pleasures which are so much prized and esteemed by the world now appear to me dull and insipid – so much so, that I wondered how I ever could have enjoyed them."
Have circumstances or "things" caused your experience with God to turn lukewarm? If so, will you – like Madam Guyon – take time to love God and to contemplate God’s love and goodness toward you? You will find that loving God will turn any prison into a palace!
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