I know many of us today are living in a world of uncertainty. It seems like fear and confusion are what we experience in our daily lives. It seems like our world has changed so fast and for the worst. However, there is HOPE today.
Why is this important? Well in the midnight hour, in the middle of a prison, when two men began to praise the Lord, a miracle happened. Verse 26 says, “And suddenly there was a great earthquake.” The bands were loosened and the prisons were shaken, and the doors were opened. That is a great miracle, but that was just the beginning. The jailer was so scared that he started to kill himself. Paul cried out to the jailer and the jailer came to Paul and Silas and asked them how he could be saved. (v30) They told him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The jailer took them home, fed them, and he and his family were baptized. d having no idea what the morning may bring them.
Many of us were going about our daily lives, when all of a sudden, our lives changed. The economy that we were living in was thriving, but would soon come crashing down. The places we couldn’t wait to visit on vacation, were closing with no dates to open. Parents soon became teachers, as the schools began to close down. The sports, concerts, movies, and other forms of entertainment, that we frequently visited, were cancelled and closed. Even the safest place we know, the place we go for comfort, the place we go for answers, our churches, were closing. We live in fear for ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and even strangers because we don’t know what tomorrow brings. I can believe that we are like Paul and Silas. However, instead of being stuck in an inner part of a jail, we are stuck in our homes.
I am writing this to tell you that there is HOPE. We can compare our present-day uncertainty and changes due to the uncertainty to the changes experienced by Paul and Silas. The good news is Paul and Silas show us how to deal with uncertainties. We should follow their example, but many of us are doing the opposite. The difference is, many of use are scared, trying to figure this all out on our own, but they turned to King of Kings. Verse 25 tells us that in the midnight hour, the darkest time, the moment before the next day was coming upon them, that Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God. The verse says that they didn’t do this quietly or scared, but that the prisoners heard them. Are we praying and singing praises to God during our uncertainty? Are we thanking Him for all He has done for us? God has not changed. The Bible tells us that in Psalms 150 verse 6, “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.” Are you breathing today? If so, then in the middle of your prison, your storm, your uncertainty, your trial, praise Him. Miracles happen when we praise Him. I know it is easy to praise Him when things are going great. However, I challenge you to praise Him even when things are hard and going bad.
Why is this important? Well in the midnight hour, in the middle of a prison, when two men began to praise the Lord, a miracle happened. Verse 26 says, “And suddenly there was a great earthquake.” The bands were loosened and the prisons were shaken, and the doors were opened. That is a great miracle, but that was just the beginning. The jailer was so scared that he started to kill himself. Paul cried out to the jailer and the jailer came to Paul and Silas and asked them how he could be saved. (v30) They told him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The jailer took them home, fed them, and he and his family were baptized.
I encourage you to praise Him during the storm, during this midnight hour that we are facing. I am agreeing and praying that we all can learn to praise, even on our worst day. Most people may fuss and complain, but let’s be different. Let’s be like Paul and Silas and praise when we are tired, don’t feel like it, or it seem like there is no way out, and when we feel there is no future. I believe that God is not a respecter of persons and I believe that God does not change. I believe that God can and will show up in our midnight hour and work miracles in our lives. I believe that even the ones around us and their families can and will be changed because of the situations that you and I are facing today. Midnight is coming, are you going to fuss and complain or pray and sing praises, the choice is yours.
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