Prison Doors…

Prison Doors…

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is in Acts Chapter 16. Let me paraphrase this for you and set the scene. Paul, an apostle of Jesus, along with Silas were in Phillippi preaching the gospel of Jesus. A woman who had within her an evil spirit which gave her the ability to tell the future (Acts 16:16-40). The female slave began following them proclaiming "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” (vs 17) Now Paul and Silas knew that this would bring attention to them and the leaders would not be pleased. They were in fact correct. As this continued for many days,"Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her."" (vs 18) Now, let's stop right here for a moment. God had this in His plan. This was not by happenstance that the slave followed Paul, Silas, and the others. This was not a random occurrence. This was, in fact, God's divine plan to reveal His power and His glory.

Those who had been making money from the fortune telling abilities of this woman were now very upset. Dragging Paul and Silas into the marketplace, the crowd joined in and the authorities were now involved. Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten with rods, flogged and thrown into the depths of prison. The guard was admonished that he should ensure they did not escape. Paul and Silas were in ankle chains, in the depth of the prison, surrounded by cells, and what did they do? This is my favorite part. "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." (vs 25)

You see, Paul and Silas were wounded from the beatings and flogging. They were most definitely facing dire circumstances, and yet they lifted their voices to God. Sometimes our life seems like a prison. Sometimes our life seems dire and our circumstances are bleak. In my opinion, this is a great example of lifting our eyes to God and turning it all to Him. Because Paul and Silas turned to God, the other prisoners heard the message. Because Paul and Silas did not escape when their chains were loosed, the jailer did not kill himself. "But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” (vs 28) Instead, the jailer sought Jesus and was saved. He took them to his house, cleaned their wounds, feed them, and rejoiced along with his household. "The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household." (vs 34)

The following morning the magistrate ordered Paul and Silas' release. God saw into the future. No, not like the fortune-telling woman. God sees the past, present, and future. He knows the plan. He knew all along. Yes, there is a song in here for me. There is always a song. "I surrender all." When I surrender all, God can use my all. He can open my prison doors for His glory. He can use throw my doors open wide just like those prison doors in Phillippi. He can loose my chains that bind me to this world and my circumstances. He does this with His mercy and forgiveness. He can use me to reach others even in my prisons, just like Paul and Silas.