Praise Him in the Dark Times
Acts 16:25-26 NIV
"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."
In troublesome times, we're tempted to feel defeated and discouraged. We may even begin to ask ourselves, "Where's God?" In the Book of Acts, chapter 16, the apostle Paul and his right-hand man Silas were persecuted for their faith while in Philippi sharing the Gospel. They were not only flogged severely (v.23) but were later thrown in prison for attempting to build the church. As we can see from the scripture, not only were they in an awful place, but they were in this place because they were being led by their faith. They could've been discouraged. They could've thought, "One things for sure, if I ever get out of here, I'm done spreading the good news," or "Where's God? We're being faithful, yet our faith got us into this mess!" On the contrary, they spent their prison time singing and praising to God! Though they had been dealt an ugly hand, they didn't let the world get them down. Instead, they used their situation to strengthen their faith and relationship with God.
Can you imagine the infinite blessings God would bestow onto us if we would just praise him anyway? Even when we find ourselves in the midst of turmoil, sitting in the most desolate of places, we can know and trust that God will see us through. Why? Because even dark times serve a greater purpose. Proverbs 16:4 NIV says, "The Lord works out everything to its proper end-even the wicked for a day of disaster." When we sing praises, God breaks down prison walls. When we send up prayers, God breaks chains. When we lift everything up to God, and stop questioning him, we will walk out of our prisons like free men and women.
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