Many times we go through challenging times in life and we can be tempted to feel that we are all alone. Today I want to encourage you with some thoughts around God’s wonderful love and support for you and His limitless power to come to your aid. God may not deliver us from every situation, but He will prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies. (Psalm 23:5)
In Acts 16 the Bible records the story of Paul and Silas preaching the gospel in Thyatira. They cast a demon out of a slave woman who was a fortune teller. Her owners were angry because their livelihood was threatened and they had Paul and Silas thrown into prison. As Paul and Silas sat in their cells, with their feet in stocks, they began to pray and worship God.
Paul and Silas knew that the enemy had been stirred up against them to shut them down and stop them preaching the Gospel. They knew they were in prison because of their faith in Jesus. They knew that because of this that Jesus Himself was watching over them in a very special way. They did not discount the God factor.
Now they could have become filled with self pity and become discouraged. They could have said, ‘Is this the thanks we get for sharing the wonderful, life changing message of Gospel?’ or they could have thought ‘Where is God, He’s not intervening, we could be stuck in this prison cell rotting away for the rest of our lives.’ Paul and Silas refused to discount the God factor. They were counting on God. They knew it was because they were serving God, that they were there in the first place.
Paul and Silas were not like every other prisoner in that prison. They had the God factor. As they began to pray and seek God the Bible tells us the entire prison was shaken, the prison doors flew opens and all the chains and shackles of all the prisoners were broken off. The jailer was about to take his life because he was responsible for ensuring all the prisoners were contained, but Paul and Silas led him and his whole family to Christ. Everything changed in a moment of time because of the God factor.
Today maybe your are feeling restrained and restricted by circumstances in your life because of decisions you have made to follow Jesus. I want to encourage you, you have the God factor. You are not like everyone else. You serve God Almighty, the God of unlimited power. The God who moves and breaks open every restricting prison door. Don’t be discouraged keep your eyes on God, keep your eyes on His love and His unlimited power to intervene in your life!
