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Discussion Forum : Devotional Thoughts : joy from Acts 16

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heraldndaw
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Joined: 2011/1/10
Posts: 16


 joy from Acts 16

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

So here are Paul and Silas trying to do the will of God. They were listening to his voice and landed in this particular city. After strategizing and planning they begin to go out but it seems like all their efforts are being sabotaged.

Have you ever felt like that storm cloud just kept following you? Every resume you send, gets ignored, or even when you get an interview; denied. Every single guy that's into you turns out to be a creep, and even the good guy ends us falling for someone else. What’s worse is that you are trying to do good, you are trying to follow God, you are giving it your best, and at the least a pretty decent shot, all to find out whatever you do is failing. Sometimes you begin to question God, and ask why?

So here we have Paul and Silas two men of God, who after having their work frustrated at least partially by this spirit, when they set free this slave girl from her spiritual captor, they themselves become captives and are lied on, beaten. In fact they just were not simply beaten, the scripture says they were severely flogged.

Have you felt severely flogged by life?

So what was their response to all of this? We find it in the next verse.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them

Paul and Silas had every right to feel depressed, angry, discouraged, and bitter but they didn’t, they were the complete opposite; joyful and full of faith.

1 Samuel 30:6 shows us that there are times that we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord.

Paul and Silas were simply acting out Psalms 34.

1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be in my mouth.
2 I[b] praise the LORD—
let the suffering listen and rejoice.
3 Magnify the LORD with me!
Together let us lift his name up high!

They knew that David instructs us to bless God at all times. What is even more interesting is that while they were in prison, the other prisoners who were suffering were listening too, wondering what kind of lunatics were in there with them. I can see Paul and Silas in there saying this very verse to the prisoners, “Magnify the Lord with us, Let us lift up his name together”. So even though Paul and Silas were suffering despite doing the right thing, they made a decision to bless the Lord, they made a decision to not give in, they made a choice to praise God.

excerpt from http://heraldinthewilderness.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/joy/

 2011/9/4 4:26Profile
rufnrust
Member



Joined: 2010/1/9
Posts: 261
Indiana

 Re: joy from Acts 16

Praising God because He is worthy and because His very presence draws praise from his people, and the resulting JOY we experience must be a sign and a wonder to a doubting world. Especially when we ourselves are offering praise in the midst of trials and have joy "in Him"!

Ruf


_________________
Russell

 2011/9/4 8:48Profile





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