Acts 16:25. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
What? Since when does being imprisoned equate to anything worth singing about or praising God about?
Yesterday I wrote about some of the hardest trials in life I've had to deal with. I wish I could say I was singing and praising God during that time like these guys did. Are you doing that right now through the junk you are dealing with? How often do we feel like what we're going through in life must be like being in prison? It feels like our poor circumstances are preventing us from experiencing anything better.
This past fall, God started to open my heart to a different perspective. Like Paul and Silas, we CAN find joy and peace in our "prisons" of lack, of poor health , of frustration, etc. I began to realize what these guys had was something I could experience too. I didn't get it right away, but decided to start practicing it. I failed a lot, still struggled at times, but I never stopped trying. The one nice thing about being alone in prison is that it can allow us to focus more on our Father. When we realize He is with us in that solitude, we can begin to see Him more clearly. We can start to rejoice knowing that He hasn't left us! While the pressures of our prisons squeeze in on us we can still push back the darkness and frustration by practicing being in his presence. I use the word practice intentionally. We're not suddenly perfected in our ability to block out the circumstances, but as we continue to try, the closer we get to singing praises in prison too. I encourage each of us to give it a try. Then give it a try again and again. Our Father is with you and me no matter where we are and no matter what we're dealing with. Let's practice being in his presence and letting go of what seems to be pressing in on us. Maybe then Acts 16:26 will be true for us too!
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