Daily Devotions – Contentment in all Circumstances

Daily Devotions – Contentment in all Circumstances

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

 

Acts 16:16-40  (NIV)
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. 19 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 21 by 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. 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.

 

If you were falsely accused, severely beaten, and thrown in a dark jail, would you still trust in God’s plan?

 

Lord, lately I feel like I am in prison. I feel like my freedoms are being threatened by power-hungry people who want to destroy all that I value. Travel and so many things are canceled or restricted. If I dare say that I am a Christian, I am for any political candidate that someone else doesn’t like, if I stand up against abortion, respect the police, or value all people no matter what their heritage is, I am called names and risk violence against me. Many people today are imprisoned in fear. This is all taking me into a dark place that doesn’t feel like freedom and my heart is troubled. Paul and Silas were physically beaten for preaching the gospel. they were taken into the inside of the prison where it was dark and cold and they were shackled so they couldn’t move and were uncomfortable. In all of that stifling darkness and pain, they were still lifting up words of hope. Their trust in You left them with a deep contentment that their bleak circumstances couldn’t change. They experienced the power of God that broke their chains and opened the doors, but instead of running to freedom, they stayed to minister to the guard and his family. Paul and Silas were free to serve You with their whole hearts and their whole lives and so am I. Anyone can be happy in pleasant circumstances, but real joy comes only from within and is a gift available to all Christians at all times. Lord help to grasp onto Your joy. Give me faith so that external circumstances can’t prevent me from singing hymns and witnessing my faith even in the darkest times. Today I am free to joyfully follow in Your footsteps. I am free to do Your will, follow Your ways, embrace Your love, love my neighbors, and hear with compassion, the cries of the needy. I am free in a way that gives life – true, abundant life. In Christ Jesus, I have been set free. Let me live like I am a person who knows it. Amen.