BIBLE PASSAGE:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such
a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At
once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.
(Acts 16:25-26)
MEDITATION:
Do you ever feel that extenuating circumstances prevent you from being
a witness for the God who rescued and saved you? Do you live two lives
depending on your circumstances? Do you live one life when you are in
the company of other believers, and a different one when you are not?
Do you ever feel embarrassed for some groups of people to know that
you’ve been saved by the Lord and have surrendered your life to Him?
How does the opinion of others affect your openness about your faith? Do
their opinions prevent you from being open and honest about your faith
and commitment to the Lord? Are you more concerned about the opinion
of others than you are about how the Lord feels about you?
Do you have a ‘dark side’ in your life that others may or may not know
about? Are you allowing anything to control you such as alcohol, drugs,
wrong attitudes, gambling, pornography, lying, stealing, dishonesty,
selfishness, etc.?
When something in opposition to the Lord controls us, we can find ourselves
chained in a ‘living prison’. Nobody wants to live in this kind of prison (or
in any other physical prison). God has promised freedom for everyone, but
it requires a change of our heart, attitude, priorities, focus, words and actions.
In the scriptures, we see that Paul and Silas were not only in prison, but
they were in the most secured area with their feet in stocks. At what might
be considered a depressing time of their day (the midnight hour), they were
praying and singing praises to God.
Apparently, they were singing loud enough for the other inmates and guards
to hear them praising God. Imagine the thoughts of everyone as they listened
to these two men of God singing in the worst of circumstances. What a great
testimony of two men who were fully dedicated and committed to God!
Do you think you would react in the same way in these circumstances?
Being imprisoned because of a faith in God could cause some to say,
“God, why have you allowed this to happen to me?”
Hopefully, all believers would want to respond the same way as Paul
and Silas, but would they?
When our lives are totally focused on God and not on ourselves, then
God is able to shake the foundations of the world through us. During
the singing of praises to God by Paul and Silas, the foundations of the
jail were shaken, and the doors to the cells were opened.
They were set free – free to accomplish God’s will for them as part of
His master plan for mankind. They could have created a ‘pity party’
for themselves, but they instead chose to have a ‘praise party’. And
look at the resulting effect of their faith, actions and obedience – one
of the jailers and his household were saved – the lives of others were
changed!
Imagine this…
– when our lives are in the same place as Paul and Silas;
– when we have allowed God to prove Himself to us;
– when our total confidence is in the Lord;
– when our circumstances are not about us,
but about being obedient to God;
– when our faith is in God, and not in our circumstances;
– when we know that we will not be imprisoned
or bound any longer than God wants us to be;
– when our life is not our own, but belongs to God;
– when our singing is a result of our faith and a desire
to give all praise, glory and honor to God for all things,
…we open the door for God to shake the foundations of our world through us.
The effects of these things will ‘free us’ from the control of our natural
and fleshly lusts, so we can start experiencing a new and supernatural
life with God’s power living in, and through us.
Our total surrender to Him opens the door for God to ‘shake the
foundation’ of the lives of others, so that they too can become a
member of His family! Our decisions can be important for the
eternal destiny of others, so we need to choose wisely.
ACTION:
Questions to consider:
– Do the circumstances of life have me bound?
– Do I have a desire to be set free from any bondage?
– Am I tired of living a worldly life that is dominating me?
– Am I strong enough to admit my weaknesses, and am I
willing to surrender my life to the power and control of the Lord?
– Is it exciting for me to realize my decisions
could impact the eternal destiny of others?
– How does it make me feel to know that God
can speak to others through me?
– How strong is my desire to fellowship with the Lord?
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for being faithful in all things!
Forgive me for the times when I restrain myself from praising
You. Teach me to be more concerned with how You perceive me
than what others think about me. Thank You for the Holy Spirit
You have given me to help me to transform into the person You
want me to be. Thank You for how the Spirit will protect and
guide me in all things, including my praise and worship of You.
Teach me how to fully release the Holy Spirit in my life, so I can
allow Him to change my heart, attitudes, words, actions, habits,
and priorities. I am confident that I will experience a new and
different kind of freedom when I give up more of myself and
seek more of You.”
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