“The crowds joined in attacking [Paul and Silas] and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks” (Acts 16:22-24).
Have you ever been in a completely unfair situation? You were trying to do the right thing and still, somehow, you found yourself trapped, snared by circumstances beyond your control.
Wounded, disappointed, damaged, you are detained in the dark; feet in chains, freedom denied.
“About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and 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 bonds were unfastened” (Acts 16:25-26).
At the blackest point of the night a glimmer of hope appears: you find your voice. You open your mouth in prayer and song. I don’t know what exact words you use, whether you cry out in lament and sorrow, or rejoice in faith, or rehearse God’s faithfulness.
But God moves the earth in response and the very foundation of what has been locking you up is shaken to the core.
And the most beautiful thing accompanies this miracle – there is not only freedom for you, but also for everyone around you. You have unknowingly sung songs of deliverance over a whole community.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed…
Open your mouth in a God-song today and see what happens.
I dare you.
