Prison Attitude

Acts 16:29-31 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your whole household."

     This is a familiar story in Acts 16. Paul and Silas are jailed because they exorcised from a young girl a demon that was making her master loads of money. Paul and Silas were severely flogged, they were thrown into prison and shackled, their feet put in stocks.
     What could have happened in the hours  between Paul and Silas being placed in the hands of the jailer and the moment the jailer was trembling on his knees before Paul and Silas wondering what it would take to be saved? What could turn a man indebted to the the Roman Government into  a man who turns his life over to Christ?
     Paul and Silas happened, that's what.
     Consider you are the jailer and possibly you have been doing this job for a long time. You have seen every type of criminal and miscreant imaginable in your cells. You have heard all their stories, most of them beginning with "I was framed!" or "I am innocent." After awhile you would turn a deaf ear to the complaints and pleas of the crooks.
    But the jailer couldn't turn a deaf ear to Paul and Silas because instead of complaints, he heard prayers. Instead of cursing he heard hymns of praise. This had to pique his interest.
     And when the earthquake came and all the doors opened, the jailer supspected the worst: all the prisoners would have fled and the Roman government would have his head. And just as he was going to do the job himself, Paul cried out,"We are all here! Don't do it!"
     There was something different about these guys. Paul and Silas had even convinced the other prisoners to stay where they were. Though the end event is what is celebrated (a whole household getting saved), the jailer never would have responded without Paul and Silas living out their faith in the harshest of times.
    So that is the challenge. Everyone lives a great faith when things are going well. It is not hard to put on a happy face when things are going all smiley for you. But what happens when we are thrown into the prison of life? How do we live out our faith when life is at its harshest?
     Earthquakes help, but the short time of exposure the jailer had to Paul and Silas was more than enough to convince him that they had the answer to whatever the question would be. Because, in the worst possible moment: beaten, scourged, imprisoned, in stocks, Paul and Silas lived like the followers of Christ they proclaimed to be.
     I cringe at some of the moments in my life when I did not walk the faith I had so proudly proclaimed. That at times when the pressure was on, I wilted. And though this only attests to my humanity and that I am a work in progress, how many saw my spiritual hissy fit or self-righteous pouting and concluded that following Christ makes no difference in a life.
     Paul and Silas could have written the words to this popular worship song:
Blessed be your name, in the land that is plentiful,
when the streams of abundance flow, Blessed be your name.
Blessed be your name, when I'm found in the desert place.
though I walk through the wilderness, Blessed be your name.
Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say:
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
     So the key is to respond to the hardships in similar manner as to when life is going well. I should be consistent in my reaction. And this comes by being next to Christ in prayer, in His word, and in fellowship with others who share your faith in Christ. If I have truly ceded my life to God, then when certain things happen as a result of my faith, I will just have to trust God has got it figured out. And I should go on praying and praising in the darkest of moments.
     Who knows? Someone may be watching and decide to follow Christ. That would be alright.