...and the prisoners were listening

'About midnight Paul and Silas were praying

and singing hymns to God,

and the prisoners were listening to them...'

Acts 16:25

I absolutely love this story! 

Just imagine for a moment...

you're imprisoned unfairly...

dark. cold. damp. crowded. 

I can't be completely certain as to what my response would be; I would like to think that it would be gracious and joyful and eager to honor my Lord in the midst of it all, but given the comfortable life I am used to living, I am not entriely sure. 

Here are two men, Paul and Silas, in love with Jesus. 

Their lives completely transformed by the God who lived and died to save their souls. 

Imprisoned for bringing light to the darkness...hope to the hopeless. 

So here they sit...

the dampness unable to snuff out their light...

the shackles binding their feet but not their tongues...

the coldness adding stark contrast to the life giving warmth of the presence of God in that place. 

Paul and Silas were not clammering about the unfairness of the situation. 

They were not building support for a riot. 

They were praising and praying! 

...and the prisoners were listening. 

The unfairness of life can be slippery slope and a dangerous rabbit hole. 

The bitterness it brings can swallow a person whole. 

The only guard against it: gratitude. 

For everything I complain about, whether legit or not, there is something to thank God for. 

In that moment, I have a choice to make: 

complain or give thanks. 

The choice has the power to not only change my life, but the lives of those around me. 

Whatver 'prison' you may find yourself in, whether it is a challenging marriage, a dead-end job full of corporate politics, a barren womb, grief from loss or shattered dreams, unemployment, illness, financial strain.....

my prayer is that you will embrace the God who cares in the midst of the darkness and cold and dampness of life. 

I pray that the God who promised to be an ever present help in times of trouble would be so present that your soul can't help but sing. 

I pray that gratitude would spill out of you,
cutting through the darkness like a knife and bringing hope to your weary bones. 

And don't forget all those imprisoned around you...

they will be listening. 

blessing be yours. 

tiffany