It didn’t take Paul and Silas to get into trouble in Philippi. They did what they always did, they began to preach the gospel. And, as was their wont, there were arrested for their preaching and thrown into jail.
It seems like from what we read that arrest and imprisonment were not to be taken lightly. They were usually chained to the walls and chained to a couple of soldiers and there were plenty of guards. The jails were usually just a hole in the ground or a cave. They were cold and dark and damp and dirty without sanitary provisions.
If you had thrown me in a jail like that, hey, in any jail, I don’t think I’d be very happy. I don’t know that you would read that ‘at midnight Roger was singing and praising God and the other prisoners were listening to him.’ Can you even imagine that?
When was the last time you or I responded to a really bad situation, where we could see no chance of escape, by singing and praising God? I know that my normal reaction is to fall into pity party pit, or what Bunyan called the ‘slough of despond’ Where do Paul and I differ? Paul had truly grasped the concept of ‘whatever state I am in I will be content.’ His praising God was more important than his comfort. Being a testimony was more important than his trials.
O for the faith to strive to please God in my trials than to make me happy. God used Paul’s willingness to sing and praise. Please Lord, give me that spirit of song and praise all through my life.
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