The island of Patmos is a barren, rock of an island that was used as a prison. Isolated in the Aegean sea, it was desolate, hopeless place. Men were sent there to die. If the forced labor did not get them, the utter loneliness would. John had not committed a crime, but was there because of his preaching the gospel. While we may not physically go to Patmos, we often find ourselves there spiritually or emotionally. We find ourselves in circumstances that trt our mind and soul. What we say to ourselves in such times is more important than what our circumstances tell us. We all have a choice in how we respond to situations. No matter how hard, dire or hopeless our situation is, how we respond will determine the outcome. Feeling sorry for ourselves or looking for pity will not work. John was not alone on Patmos. There were many there in the same situation. Self pity is not the answer. It will not get us out of our Patmos, nor will it make it any easier to live there. In our text, there is a report of deliverance. It contains the truth that a man discovered in a difficult place. One translations says “I found myself on Patmos.” Bro. Hughes chooses to read this not that he found himself ON Patmos, but that he found HIMSELF on Patmos. Our text is a message of self discovery. One thing John found is that he was not going to get off of Patmos by himself. He found out that his present troubles could not overcome his future hope. God kept speaking to John about a future. If finally dawned on John that if God was talking about a future, that he would be in it. As hard as Patmos was, that was not how John’s story would end. John learned was that he was not defined by Patmos. God showed him that he could bear more than Patmos could deal. Finally John learned that he could make it. He did not die on Patmos. John endured much but he was able to live through it. As bad as what we are experiencing may be, God is not going to abandon us there. We have what it takes to overcome. The key is finding yourself in troubled times.