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About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25
D.L. MOODY
An old gentleman got up once in a meeting and said he had lived nearly all his life on Grumble Street, but not long ago, he had moved over on Thanksgiving Street. His face showed it. Paul and Silas in jail at Philippi, when they had received stripes on the back and had their feet in the stocks, still sang praises to God. If some of us were in jail with our feet in the stocks, I don’t think we would sing much. We want a cheerful Christianity.
ERWIN LUTZER
Can we give thanks to God for an evil act when God uses it for good? In Los Angeles, a baby was born to a teenage girl who was raped. The baby girl grew up and became a soloist and blessed the hearts of millions of people. She was Ethel Waters, who sang the beloved gospel song at the Billy Graham crusades, “His eye is on the sparrow.”
This is an example of how we can give thanks to God for how He sometimes uses evil to bring about good. We don’t give thanks for the evil, but we do give thanks for the good He brings forth from it. Do not ever underestimate God’s ability to take a sorrow and to turn it into a joy. He does that today, even for you and for me.
As we discover in Acts 16, Paul and Silas could sing hymns to God while unjustly prisoned. They saw God above the pain and unjust events of life. If you are going through a trial today, give thanks to God for it. You will bring glory to His name and help you look at it from a divine perspective. God, in His grace, may bring something beautiful from what you are going through. Give thanks right now; God is able and the war has been won.
PRAYER
Father, you can take the deepest of sorrows and bring hope. Help me to thank you in all things. Let me sing praises to you despite unanswered questions.REFLECTION QUESTIONS
God will restore all things, why then do we struggle with the difficulty we now have in the world?Why can we sing God’s praise in the darkest of times?