52 And the disciples were continually filled [throughout their souls] with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Acts 16:22-30
22
The crowd [also] joined in the attack upon them, and the rulers tore
the clothes off of them and commanded that they be beaten with rods.
23 And when they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely.
24 He, having received [so strict a] charge, put them into the inner prison (the dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25
But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of
praise to God, and the [other] prisoners were listening to them,
26
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the very foundations of
the prison were shaken; and at once all the doors were opened and
everyone's shackles were unfastened.
27
When the jailer, startled out of his sleep, saw that the prison doors
were open, he drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself,
because he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul shouted, Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!
29 Then [the jailer] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling and terrified he fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 And he brought them out [of the dungeon] and said, Men, what is it necessary for me to do that I may be saved?
Devotional
Paul
and Silas, two New Testament disciples, had been beaten by an angry mob
until they were bruised and bleeding. Their clothes had been violently
torn from their bodies. These two great men of God were thrown into a
Roman prison and their feet were locked into stocks. Set down in the belly of the earth, an ancient prison was a place that reeked of urine and vomit. Prisoners received only one meal per day of moldy bread and accompanied by dirty water.
When a guard brought food, he kicked the prisoner in a place that would bring excruciating pain. Roman prisoners sat in their own excrement day after day. Varmints and insects continually crawled over the prisoner’s chained body.
At midnight, when most people would choose to give up into depression, Paul and Silas found joy! They discovered joy in the putrid smell of prison and in the dank of hopelessness. They discovered joy with their feet bound in purposeless and in the sewage of their own existence.
Paul and Silas chose to worship Jesus at the very worst moment of their life. As Christians, we have a divine duty to meet the very worst that life offers with joy!
Practical Application:
1- Make an entry in your Thanksgiving list with three blessings. Mention your blessings on social media. #beatdepression!
2- Listen to your favorite worship song three times today. Let the words of the music encourage you as you sing along and life your hands in worship.
Declaration:
I declare that no matter how black my circumstances seem I will sing like Paul and Silas! I rejoice in You, Father and give You my highest praise!
Prayer:
“Thank You, Father that I can lift my voice and my hands in worship to You. I thank You that as I worship, the chains of depression and despondency are being broken in my life. Amen.”
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