Paul and Silas had been put into prison. All they wanted to do was witness about
what Jesus had done for them, but the crowd turned against them when they cast a
demon out from a servant girl who was able to fortune-telling, and now they
found themselves locked behind bars.
That didn't stop them from praying and singing praise songs to God, however, and
the other prisoners listened intently to them (See Acts 16:25).
Our Father certainly honoured them for their endeavour. Suddenly a violent
earthquake shook open the prison doors and everyone's chains fell off (see Acts
16
:26). Imagine the reaction of the poor jailer when he found all those doors
opened. He was toast! He would be executed for not having done his job right. I
sure felt sorry for him, and so did Paul and Silas!
The jailer was about to commit suicide when Paul exclaimed: "Don't harm yourself!
We are all here!" (Acts 16:28b, NIV). Ardent believers are always filled with
compassion, even towards their enemies.
Puzzled, the jailer verified their claim and found it to be true. How was this
possible that no one had escaped? The jailer concluded it was a miracle. He fell
on his face before the disciples, and he had but one question: "Sirs, what must
I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30b, NIV).
Finally Paul and Silas had the opportunity to testify to their heart's content.
The earthquake hadn't occurred for Paul and Silas to escape. The earthquake was
a wake-up call for the jailer and his family. He became quite excited when he
heard the good news that Jesus had paid the price for his salvation. He
immediately took care of their wounds. He and his family were then baptized in
the middle of the night, and the next day Paul and Silas were set free by the
town's authorities.
Our Father's priority is to bring salvation to anyone who is willing to listen.
Without Paul and Silas being arrested, the jailer would have never heard the
truth! Our Father orchestrated the events to offer an opportunity for the jailer
and his family to know God!
Last time I shared with you our trials with British Airways when a thunderstorm
stranded numerous planes. At least after all that waiting, we did receive a room
in a chique hotel!
Why did these adversities occur? To offer us opportunities that would have never
happened otherwise.
We barely had four hours of sleep that night. We woke up early as we were told
we had to be standing in line at terminal E by five a.m. in order to rebook our
flight. What we didn't expect is that numerous tourists were still sleeping on
the floor at the airport. I felt so sorry for these poor people.
Terminal E was a mess. Stranded passengers were everywhere, and there wasn't
even a hint of an orderly line. It was a real fiasco, and British airways
representatives had to sort it all out. In the end, however, many who were last
in line now found themselves first. Some even cheated to be ahead. Ohers, like
us, were out nearly towards the end of the line, even though we had been among
the first ones to be there.
This is where we met a French couple with their son. We let them go before us in
line, and we soon made friends with them. We had so many similar interests, and
instead of being bored, we were laughing the whole time, so much so that the
British Airways personnel often came to us to find relief from the many
passengers who were complaining.
Our new-found friends had slept at the airport, but their sleepiness disappeared
as we talked with one another. And it was a good thing, because we stood in that
line together for over four hours! In the end, we exchanged email addresses, and
we have kept in touch. We have even been invited to visit them in France.
We were offered an opportunity to testify about our Father. Adversity is often
an opportunity to reach out to others. If we look it that way, we will never
want to grumble again.
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.