Miracles Await Merriment

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.” (Ac 16:25-26 AV)

 

We want to note the connection between the singing and praising of Paul and Silas with the earthquake that freed them.  To give a little context, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison for preaching at Philippi.  Paul was a Roman citizen and was beaten and imprisoned without the benefit of a trial.  This was illegal and could have cost those responsible their lives.  Rather than allowing the flesh to be filled with resentment and feelings of injustice, Paul and Silas decided to sing and praise God in very adverse conditions.  And this is the lesson this morning.  Sometimes, God waits until we rejoice amid adverse conditions before He decides to work.  This does make complete sense.  Why would He bless when we murmur and complain?  What kind of testimony to the world would that leave?  God is a rewarder to the whinners?  The LORD waits until we can praise Him despite the adverse conditions and then sends an earthquake.

When I was but a youth, I had several pets.  I had a fish tank.  This did not end well.  I gave it the old college try, but in the end, well-meaning siblings and friends coupled with my youthful laziness made this endeavor disappear.  One common pet that several of us kids had was a parakeet.  My Mom, bless her heart, was not an animal lover.  Brought up in the country and then moved to a city, she never wanted to return to the wild kingdom.  However, in her graceful spirit, she allowed a few small animals.  This parakeet had the best that I could but it.  A wonderful cage with water and food changed every day.  A stone to sharpen its beak and claws was also attached to the cage.  Fresh newspaper at the bottom of the cage once every two days.  Sandpaper covers for each perch were provided and changed regularly.  Peanut butter treated were also attached.  Some of them are shaped like a bell.  We didn’t clip its wings or I would have let him out of the cage.  This bird had everything it could ever want, except freedom.  What I found very interesting was as my bird sang, it would attract other birds from the outside.  Through an open window, my bird would sing up a storm.  Robins, sparrows, finches, and bluebirds would often come around and settle in a large pine tree just outside my window.  The more it sang, the greater relief was around.  The more it sand, the more attention I would pay it.  The more it sang, the more attention it garnered from wildlife and humans alike.

We are asked to live a difficult but blessed life.  We are asked to suffer for the name of Jesus.  We are asked to serve in less than ideal circumstances.  We are asked to pay a cost that few would ever understand.  We are asked to trust God through the deep waters of our souls.  These times are hard.  Our God wants to work in those times to show forth His love and greatness to a world that needs Him.  He wants to use our lives and circumstances as an opportunity to rescue others who are facing the same thing.  Paul and Silas sang and praised the LORD amid bruises, lacerations, and stocks on their feet.  They sang and praised God even though they were thrown into the darkest and rankest of all places.  They were thrown in the inward part of the prison.  Where the nasties drained in to and out of.  This was not pleasant.  Yet, they sang and praised God.  It was this spirit that led to the great earthquake that would free them and result in the salvation of an entire household.  Just think.  We may be a song away from a miracle!