Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard: Nothing is too difficult for the Lord Part 2

"And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; 21and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” 22Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks". Acts 16:20-24 NKJV

Once again we see God's people being set free from prison. Paul and Silas had been preaching in the city when a slave girl with a spirit of divination kept following them and declaring what they were doing. In the end, Paul put a stop to this and commanded a spirit to come out of her. This annoyed her masters because they would be losing a lot of money, for she was a fortune teller. So, they took them to the local magistrates.

As we can see from the text above, Paul and Silas suffered many blows from rods and were then thrown into the inner jail. They were placed in stocks and chained up. It was probably like a dungeon as the other prisoners could see them. It would probably have been a rat-infested part of the prison and very cold and smelly. They must have been in terrible agony because of their wounds and the stocks irritating this. How would they cope? How would you have coped?

Around midnight, they began singing hymns to God. All the other prisoners could see and hear them and must have been astounded at this. They didn't weep or complain; they were not feeling sorry for themselves. Not at all; in the middle of their pain and difficulty they were bringing praise to God. This is a wonderful example to us that when we are down and depressed and feeling sorry for ourselves, the way ahead is to praise God. He is still on the throne no matter what.

Suddenly, there was a great earthquake (v26) and it shook the whole of the prison, unlocking doors and breaking off chains from the prisoners. The keeper of the jail was about to take his life because he thought all the prisoners had escaped. However, Paul shouted to him not to do this reassuring him that they were all still there. The keeper threw himself down at Paul's feet and asked what he could do to be saved. Paul told him to, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'

You know, problems come around and we feel that things are impossible to change. But we are wrong. Jesus Christ can change anything. Nothing is too difficult for Him. Paul and Silas could have been executed but they weren't. They could have died from the cold and damp - they didn't. They could have been in prison for a very long time, probably until their death - they weren't. Jesus changed it all for them and through this a family were saved and possibly many of the prisoners who were looking on.

When you think things are over, they're probably just beginning!

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen
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