According to the Scripture in Acts 16, Paul and Silas found themselves in a jail innocently. To us, the irony is that they sang and prayed even though they had been arrested, beaten, imprisoned with their feet held fast in stocks. To the average person, the Jubilee makes no sense. Either they are deranged or something miraculous was happening.
The happening was accompanied by an earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison causing all the doors of the separate jail cells to be thrown open and all the shackles dropped off the prisoners’ feet. At this point, we could reply that this was a wonderful thing. At the same time, we can ask what was the purpose of all of this? Let’s explore the recollection more thoroughly and its consequences.
The beating that Paul and Silas experienced was no doubt profound, yet they ignored their pain. Many times, in the experience of our lives, we all have those times that are significantly hurtful and even discouraging. When we look at the Scripture like this, it is easy to reply that it is too difficult to rejoice when life is so hurtful. It may even sound ridiculous that we would have a glad heart while at the same time being in turmoil whether it be physical, spiritual or otherwise.
The jailer was very competent in his tasks. However, if Paul and Silas had not been in jail, he would’ve never heard the good news of salvation for himself and his family. Have you ever considered that your hard times might be a testimony that would lead someone else to accept Christ?
The other prisoners in the jail eventually found their freedom, also. Without Paul and Silas and work of the angel they would likely have rotted in such a desperate situation. We know not whether these prisoners were guilty or innocent, but we do know that they witnessed the overpowering strength and love of God for themselves.
Paul and Silas focused more on the relationship with God than what happened to them. They were pleased to experience the hate of the world just as Jesus did. Remind yourself that the difficulties you have been experiencing or will experience originate from the work of Satan. God used that terrible situation for the benefit of all and the humiliation of the devil.
Rejoicing in the Lord in time of trouble is not a psychopathic response. It is, in fact, the most natural and normal response to trouble. These men were convinced that God was in charge of their lives no matter what was happening at the moment. Can we look beyond the moment in faith believing that God knows what he’s doing and acts wisely?
The conversion of the jailer was genuine and thoroughly believable because he followed through with the commission given from Christ that he as a Gentile be led to a place of faith and then be baptized. The rejoicing that Paul and Silas did became contagious to the jailer, also. Had they wallowed in their misery, so would have the jailer wallowed in his own form of misery without Christ.
The spiritual influence of this event reached further into the family of the jailer who, likewise, would have had their own spiritual imprisonment by Satan. The misery and torture that Paul and Silas experienced became a tool by which many people came to know Christ. Do not discount what God allows to happen in your life because it might be a great influence on someone else to come to a place of salvation.
Because of the power that was displayed by the rejoicing of Paul and Silas regardless of their pain, it became a means by which the persecutors were humiliated and fearful for what they had done. They submitted to the demands of Paul which means they submitted to the demands of God.
God is not asking you to foolishly rejoice in your hurt nor to ignore it completely. Instead, he ask you to embrace it for the value that could be mean to others. What we focus on is a key point in our spiritual victories. If we have only in our sights the bad thing that has happened to us, we can never know the rejoicing experience that will lift our spirits and be a witness to others. Your hurt can be a help to others.
Christian Writer 