Where is your place in this world? Where is my place in this world? Where is the confessed Christian’s place in this world? What are we to do? Where do we go? Wake up! All is not lost! Nothing is lost.
As the Apostles Paul and Silas said when the angel unlocked the prison doors and brought the earthquake, “We are all here.” (Acts 16:28) What happens when the good in world meets the evil in the world? Consider the passages in Acts 16:1-29.
A young girl was being abused and controlled to perform dramatically for the occultic enterprise practices and possessed with the Python spirit of divination. She was entranced constantly saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God.”
Although that was true, they didn’t want her testimony. They did not want her and that kind of recognition because it would be misleading to the onlookers to think that she too was in the same divine Christian Gospel program as were Paul and Silas. Therefore, to prevent that misrepresentation, Paul and Silas cast out of her those spirits among which were idolatry, witchcraft, and divination.
In Acts 16:19, her “pimps” (the Bible says her masters, but in today’s world they are “pimps”) were murderously angry because Paul and Silas disrupted their money-making machine of trickery and deception working through the young girl. The multitude pulled them before the authorities (magistrates). They were cast into the inner prison where it must have been dark and dirty.
The magistrates allowed them to be beaten with rods. The lictors carried rods and staves, chained their feet to the stocks (wooden stocks). Paul and Silas knew what to do. They did what Philippians 4:6 says to do -“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by (through) prayer and supplication, (pray for mercy and grace and deliverance) make your desires known to the Lord and the peace of God that surpasses and transcends all understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”
Paul and Silas, in their deep and abiding faith, began to sing praises and pray. They knew their Lord and God Jesus Christ would hear and respond to their cries. The prisoners heard them too. God Almighty heard them and sent a great earthquake, which shook the foundation of the prison, signifying His divine presence and to comfort not only Paul and Silas, but all the other prisoners too.
The keeper of the prison was asleep, but with all this commotion going on, the prison shakin’ and quakin’ rumbling and stuff; he woke up, pulled his sword and was going to kill himself. He knew that if those prisoners got away, he was a dead prison keeper.
In Acts 16:28, Paul cried out, “Don’t kill yourself bro’ (homeboy language)” or “Do yourself no harm. We are all here! No one has escaped. Don’t be alarmed! All is not lost.”
The prison keeper called for a light and came uncontrollably nervous and trembling. As a matter of fact, the keeper was so affected that without any directions or orders from the lictors or magistrates, he brought Paul and Silas out. He forgot about his own life, perhaps assuming that Paul and Silas with that kind of power, the magistrates and lictors could do nothing about them either, but free them.
He fell down before Paul and Silas crying, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your house shall be saved.”
This is our key right here. When the evil of the world meets the miraculous power of good in us, “Fear not!” His forever-presence never leaves us or forsakes us.
Writing for the Lord and loving it! Thanks for reading! Jeanette Grattan Parker is the founder-superintendent of Today’s Fresh Start Charter School, 4514 Crenshaw Boulevard, L.A. 90043, 323-293-9826, www.todaysfreshstart.org, (Ask Dr. Jeanette TM) “Inquiring Minds Want to Know.” All articles are copyright. All rights reserved © [email protected]. References: The Holy Bible. StudyLight.org; Henry’s and Kelly’s Commentaries (public domain) Any errors? Please let me know.