LIFE SCRIPTS

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 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. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 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. 35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” 38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.
Acts 16:25‭-‬40 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/act.16.25-40.NIV.

The arrest of Paul and Silas was nothing less than dramatic. A mob had been mobilized by a slave owner shortchanged by deliverance of his slave from demon possession. He had been earning a ‘handsome’ wage from her ‘foretelling’. So here the two apostles faced a rowdy mob which roughed them up and frogmarched them to the authorities who took them into custody. This must have been a humiliating scene. It’s said that humility comes from humiliation. Here, these two became a by-word. For a moment, they were the laughing stock of town. Reason? Their faith in Christ. Pause for a moment and ask yourself when’s the last time people around you laughed at your stance because it was different? When did people around you gang up against you because your convictions differed from theirs? For Christ to be seen in us, we must choose to be different. And not different for difference sake but different in making the world better than we found it. So Paul and Silas sang hymns in prison. So loud and evident was their worship that other prisoners heard them. They chose to be witnesses even in the dungeon. Another man chose to do the same also in prison. Joseph of Genesis also served God while held up in the dungeons and God exalted him. Here God did the same for Paul and Silas. These two men chose not to shun God but to hold onto Him even in the thick of things. Though they had become a laughingstock, suddenly God’s power intervened miraculously and set them free. They chose to honor God in their vulnerability and God acted on their behalf publicly. This is a reality that follows those who zealously hold on to God. Yes, difficult times come. In fact these times might knock us out of balance. But what do you do with faith when it looks hopeless to keep on holding onto it? We choose to continue steadfast in Christ. So when God intervenes and breaks the chains of captivity, we serve as a witness to those around us. The jailer was transformed and believed in God. The other prisoners must have had an encounter with Christ. The surroundings of these two apostles were never the same because God moved in their midst. He touched all those who were around them. Sometimes the greatest gospel message we can preach is choosing to believe in God in the midst of turmoil and confusion in our lives…choosing to be committed to Him irrespective of what’s not working…choosing to sing praises to Him in the midst of captivity. Believing that He’ll set us free one day and when He does, all those around us will see and believe in Him. God exalted these men. They were thrown into prison in a shameful state but were released apologetically by the same authorities who begged them not to cause controversy. When we serve God in secret, He rewards openly.