In the Midst of the Storm be a Paul and Silas

In the Midst of a storm Paul and Silas offered prayer of praises and sang hymns to The Lord. 

"But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." (Acts 16:25)

In the midst of their trials they looked to God. They didn't give up on God just like God wouldn't give up on them. They believed wholeheartedly that God was with them and that no matter what happened God would get them through this. 

We see in verse 26 that Paul and Silas' faith and their looking to The Lord freed them...

"Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed." (Acts 16:26)

We see the full power of God in just a couple verses. They Saw God and Sought God in the midst of their trial and God set them free from all of their bonds that kept them in that prison cell. 

Do you ever look at this story and think that maybe... Just maybe we need to re-evaluate our lives when things get tough? We see Paul and Silas sitting in prison with other criminals singing praises to God and praying with all of the faith that they had. They weren't sitting there playing in the dirt... They weren't sitting there complaining. They weren't questioning God. They were PRAISING Him! 

They didn't see the storm that was raging in front of them, they saw the God who walked on water! They saw the man who healed the lame and the sick. They saw the God who is sitting on the throne in Heaven in this very hour! 

We need to re-evaluate our faith in the midst of the storm; I know I do. I am known to have a lot of faith but from time to time I find myself pulling away from what I know God desires and I become terrified and I run away. I find myself complaining and questioning God as if I have the right to question. As if I have the right to complain about where He has put me. 

I don't have the RIGHT. 

This world is lacking many Paul and Silas'... We turn our backs from the God who can bring us through and we cry and blame all of our misery on Him. Let me tell you that God is NOT the cause of all of our misery in times of trouble; we are! 

What if we all looked to God instead of at the storm? What if we looked to the one who can carry us through? I find that we will be happier. 

It says in Philippians 4:6-7

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

I don't want to be a Megan... I don't want to be scared or anxious. I want to be made new! I don't want to be the old me. I want to be LIKE Christ in everything I do. I want to run this race for Christ. I want to stop turning my face from God and pushing Him away! I want my FAITH to outweigh my anger! I want my LIFE to shine the LIGHT of Jesus and who HE is! And the Good thing about this is that we CAN be happy in the midst of trials because we KNOW the ending! Christ IS coming back and He WILL take His children with Him! And that should be enough to get us through. 

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

Press towards the calling of God. Look to Christ and He will renew your strength. He is there in times of trouble and He is there in times of happiness... He is there! All we have to do is look to Him fully and He will break our chains and loose our bonds! Become a Paul and Silas for The Lord. 

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

"Close your eyes and it'll all go away..."

"Close your eyes and it'll all go away..."

We tend to use this phrase/action for most situations... 

We see a bully push a child down and we turn our backs and pretend it never happened... 

We turn on the news and see the destruction happening overseas; even in our own country and we turn it off and go about our lives as if our world is perfect and put together. 

We see the orphan and think that we don't have the skill or the money to bring in the one who has lost all that they've had and have been abandoned by all they truly loved. We turn our eyes and take care of our own as if they are not our brothers and sisters as well...

We look at our sinful lives and acknowledge we have a problem but when someone tries to help us we deny every aspect and close our eyes to the brokenness that's left behind. 

We read about Jesus' death. We see it in movies and pictures but we close our eyes because the PAIN that He went through is TOO MUCH for US to bare... 

But one thing that ALL of these have in common is that they are all right under our noses and we turn our eyes away and say that it never happened.... But IT DID HAPPEN and it's happening RIGHT NOW! 

If we keep turning our eyes away sooner or later we become that BULLY. We become the cause of all of this DESTRUCTION. We are those ORPHANS in need of love and hope. We become the SIN that so easily ENSNARES us. 

But JESUS is the one who carries us through the murky waters! He's the one to push us through and gives us the COURAGE to confront that bully, to find a solution or the means to help the destruction overseas and in our country... He gives us the desire to love every single orphan and love all of them to the extent that Jesus loved us... He took away punishment of sin and He's giving us the liberation from those burdens and sins that weigh us down. 

He carried us to Calvary but he didn't put us on the cross... He put Himself on the Cross... A SINLESS man. 

We need to step out onto the waters and have faith that God will lead, protect, provide, and always be right beside you. Keep your eyes on the Cross; keep your head above the waters. God's hand will always be there to hold on to; never let go and He will carry you through...