“After [Paul and Silas] had been
severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer…put them in the
inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.”
– Acts 16:22-24
Can you remember a time in your life when a celebration
suddenly turned into a nightmare? May 2015 was one of those times for my wife
and me. The month started off well with a Mother’s Day celebration. And we were
looking forward to my wife’s birthday and our seventeenth wedding anniversary
at the end of the month. But just four days after Mother’s Day, my wife and I
found ourselves sitting in the Loma Linda Medical Center ER with our
five-year-old daughter hooked up to an IV.
Our daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and
effective immediately, we would have to prick her fingers to test her blood
sugar at least seven times a day and give her shots of insulin at least four
times a day. If her blood sugar dropped too low, she could pass out and suffer
life-threatening injuries. If her blood sugar elevated too high, her organs
could be permanently damaged. It seemed as if we were in a bad dream from which
we couldn’t wake up.
As our happy little family’s life was suddenly turned upside
down, we found ourselves asking God the question, “Why?” My wife and I had
dedicated our lives to serving Christ and following his will, so this
gut-wrenching curve ball didn’t make sense. We knew in our heart of hearts that
God must have a clear purpose for our daughter’s disease, but we wanted to
know: “Why is this happening to us?”
In Acts 16, the Apostle Paul set out on his second
missionary journey with his sidekick, Silas. After they visited many of the
churches he had previously planted, the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision,
instructing him to preach the gospel message in Europe, not in northern Asia as he had originally planned. So, the two
missionaries obeyed God’s command. They traveled west into Europe, and the
first city where they preached was the Greek city of Philippi
Very quickly their ministry efforts produced much fruit. An
influential Jewish woman named Lydia
But their celebration quickly turned into a nightmare. In
the matter of a few hours, Paul and Silas were dragged into court, stripped,
beaten to a bloody pulp, thrown into prison, and placed in foot stocks. And if
I had been in Paul’s shoes I would have been asking, “Why, God? You told us to
come to Northern Greece , so we came. And look
where it’s gotten us. We are shackled in a jail cell with our backs bruised and
bleeding. And who knows what they’re going to do to us tomorrow? We don’t
understand! Why, God? Why?”
Sometimes when we obey God, things seem to go terribly
wrong. Oftentimes, persecution and heartache and pain increase when we’re in
the center of God’s will. But as Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:11-12: “Blessed
are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in
heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Honestly, Jesus’ command in these verses seems idealistic. Come on, Jesus, do
you really expect Christians to “rejoice and be glad” when we’re being beaten
up for our faith in Christ?
Surprisingly, yes. That’s exactly what He expects. And
that’s exactly what Paul and Silas did as they sat in agony on the cold prison
floor in Philippi . In Acts 16:25 we read these
amazing words: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to
God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” What a remarkable
response to such unjust, excruciating persecution! Bruised, bleeding and with
their feet confined in stocks, Paul and Silas spent their time praying and
singing to God. And in response, God sent a fierce earthquake that flung open
the prison doors, unlocked everyone’s chains and, more importantly, put the
fear of God into both the prisoners and the prison guard.
The prison guard fell on his knees before Paul and Silas and
asked them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” You see, revival had come to
that prison, and before the end of the night, the jailer and his entire family
had accepted Christ and proven that decision by being baptized. If Paul and
Silas had been wondering a few hours earlier, “Why is this happening to us?” by
the end of the night God had answered clearly, “This is why I brought you to Europe . This is why I allowed you to be arrested, beaten
and thrown into this Philippian prison. This is why. This is why.”
When the inevitable times of persecution for Christ come,
you and I have some important questions to answer. Will we gripe and complain
and shake our fists at God, or will we patiently praise God anyway? Will we
simply trust our own five senses, throwing God’s commands to the wind, or will
we trust God and continue obeying His will? My friend, when you are in the
midst of the pain, you may not understand what God is up to, but one day you
will. So, rejoice in Him. Trust Him. And obey His commands. Weeping may remain
for a night, but joy will certainly come in the morning. In God’s plan, pain
always has a purpose.
Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of
First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com and join us for our
first worship service of 2019 Sunday at 10 am.
