Our Example

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you. Matthew 5:11

D.L. MOODY
Listen to Paul in the jail at Philippi. “If God wants me to go to heaven by way of this prison,” he says, “it is all the same to me; rejoice and be exceeding glad, Silas. I thank God that I am accounted worthy to suffer for Jesus’ sake.” And as they sang their praises to God, the other prisoners heard them; but, what was far more important, the Lord heard them, and the old prison shook. Talk about Alexander the Great making the world tremble with his armies, here is a little tentmaker who makes the world tremble without any army!

ERWIN LUTZER
The better the world understands Christ, the more they will come to hate Him. Paul and Silas were not in prison for doing evil, but for doing good. The authorities rejected the gospel, the one message that could show them their sin and the way of forgiveness. The gospel is so contrary to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life that its message can only be accepted by the convicting work of the Spirit.
Jesus told His disciples, “‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Jesus tells us to expect hatred from the world. That is why Paul and Silas could sing in prison: they knew they were there by divine appointment.
We think we are suffering for Christ when someone cancels us on social media. But historically, the church has often experienced horrendous personal, physical, and emotional suffering for the gospel. Blessed are those who can sing in the midst of such trials.

PRAYER
Father, teach me to sing your praises today, no matter how my day goes.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Why might God allow you to go through suffering and trials?

Read 2 Corinthians 4:17-18. Why can you trust in God through difficulties?