Singing and Praising God in Chains

Singing and Praising God in Chains

When it comes to suffering for doing good, Jesus comes as a best example. He was nailed on the Cross for He healed the sick, raised the dead, chased out demons and saved people out of their sins. But since we have recited the story of Jesus many times to you all, we are sending you yet another example of people in the Bible who suffered for the sake of preaching the word of God and doing good. They are Paul and Silas. They were disciples of Jesus. Paul once visited a place of worship by the riverside. They told many many people about Jesus. Some were very happy to hear and others were angry because they did not like being  changed. They dint like it when they said Jesus would forgive them and they would become sinless. They did not believe Jesus to forgive their sins. Now there he saw a slave girl whose body had been taken over by a demon, an evil spirit. She was able to tell people what was going to happen in the future. All fortune tellers are able to predict future as they have links with evil spirits. Her owners saw they could make some money by having her tell people what was going to happen to them. As she followed Paul and the others around, the demon in her recognized who they were and shouted, "These men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved." This went on day after day. Paul felt sorry for the girl and turned around, and in the name of Jesus commanded the spirit to come out of her. (Jesus had told them earlier, when he was teaching them, that they would be able to cast out devils.)Immediately the evil spirit left her, and she was in her right mind, but she could no longer foretell the future. Her masters could not use her anymore to gain money for them. You can imagine their anger at Paul, who had ruined their fortune telling business. They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities, accusing them of causing an uproar and teaching against their way of life.

Then the crowd was stirred up and became angry, and the magistrates, or judges ordered them to be stripped of their clothing and beaten. They were unmercifully flogged and then, weak and bleeding, they were thrown into an inner cell of the prison and their feet were put in stocks. Their legs were spread wide apart and their feet put through holes in the wooden device which was used for torture as well as for securing the prisoners. Then a jailer was commanded to guard them. If he failed to keep them in the prison, he would be killed. He had a great responsibility. Did Paul and Silas moan and complain about being beaten and put in prison? No, the Bible says that about midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God. There were other prisoners in the cell listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, and the prison shook. The doors opened and the chains came off all the prisoners, but nobody tried to escape.

However, when the jailer woke up and saw the doors opened, he started to take his own life because he knew he would be killed if his prisoners had escaped. Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" The jailer was so frightened he was trembling. He called for some lights so he could look inside the cell. He fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas. He said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They told him to believe in Jesus, and they preached about the Lord to the jailer and the people of his household. That same hour he took the two men and washed the wounds they had received in the beatings. He knew he had been wrong, and he wanted to do right. He brought Paul and Silas to his house and fed them. The whole family was so happy! They were now believers in God. The next day officers were sent to the jail to tell them to release Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas went back to a believer called Lydia's house and met with the believers there. Then they left to go preach elsewhere.

They made no mistake, yet they were thrown into the prison . They spoke the word of God to the people for which they were beaten up. Even after they were beaten up, scourged and torn to pieces they did not cease to Praise and sing to the Lord. This is called persecuted for doing good, persecuted for Christ sake. In this example, see what has happened. They praised God and they were released from their chains and the doors of prison opened. How beautifully the Lord delivered them. But they stayed there to save the life of the Jailer who was in charge of them who would be killed if they escaped. How much his heart was filled with God’s love that they cared even for the man who scourged them. As a result the jailer also accepted the Lord. This is called sharing the love of Christ to all people around us amidst any situation. Are you ready to share God’s love even in your worst situation?