~ Word ~

“And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, but Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

this is quite a dramatic story, and it is multi-faceted, yet very short. Paul had been on a non-stop crusade spreading the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, to all the surrounding nations in the Mediterranean. and here in Philippi, Paul and Silas were just thrown into prison after casting a demon out of a slave girl. ...hold on, let me backup a little bit. 

this slave girl had a ‘spirit of divination’ who made her masters lots of money by fortune telling. when the demon recognized Paul and Silas as they were walking around Philippi, the possessed girl followed them around non-stop announcing: “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation!”

wait, what?? I mean, this whole town knew she could fortune-tell. surely if she had followed them around town for days, like the Word says, they would have drawn lots of attention and probably lots of new followers. its like free advertising! but Paul was greatly annoyed and turned and cast out the demon by saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” Paul was probably annoyed because he doesn’t need a demon to help him serve God and serve the people of Philippi. he had such strong faith that God would lead him to all the people in which he needed to share the gospel. 

but when the slave girl no longer had the ‘special’ spirit of divination to make her masters extra money, they were very angry. before Paul and Silas were thrown in jail, they were stripped of their clothes and beaten with rods. “and when they had laid many stripes on them”… then they were thrown into jail. 

now it gets crazier. that night in jail “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them”. so after they had been beaten with rods and thrown in prison, they could still cling to the truth, the truth that God is Good(loving, kind, patient, present) and God is Great(omniscient, all-powerful, just, faithful to His Word). although their fleshly bodies were in pain, they knew there was an eternity in the presence of God awaiting them, and work needed to be done to help save other souls. so they rejoiced in the truth the they knew, and didn’t waste energy crying about the fleeting circumstance they were in. 

then an earthquake happens and shakes the doors of the prison open and all the chains were loosened from the prisoners (how convenient?). and here’s where the story of the prison guard comes in...

the prison guard saw himself and his identity in having one job: to guard the prison. if he fails at his job, he can’t see any purpose beyond his failure and losing his identity. surely he would be punished or killed by his authorities and he only saw the one outcome. how often do we feel like this prison guard? we condense ourselves into smaller and smaller boxes until we can barely breathe, giving ourselves a tiny, tiny specification as our identity. like, i am an artist… i am a musician… i am a songwriter… and if i stop writing songs because i lost the passion or i just cant think of lyrics - who am I? what purpose do i serve any more if i cant do the one job i was given? the problem with all of this identity crisis is that it is all rooted in a false reality. 

when the prison guard was about to kill himself (that was a quick decision, wasn’t it? maybe he was already hanging on a thread…), Paul called out to calm him, and told him that there is no reason- the prisoners have not escaped (even though they all had the opportunity). 

so much happened in this instant. the prison guard suddenly had hope. he asked for a light to see if this was true. (even in this sentence, see how it is laced with the truth of God’s Word? we need to ask for light to help us see the truth. to stop fumbling in the dark and tripping over lies and falsehood.) when the guard saw that the prisoners did not take the opportunity to escape but instead stayed in their cells just so the guard would not take his own life - the guard saw a mercy that he never knew before. maybe he never had anyone in his life to go out on a limb for him. maybe he never had anyone in his life who actually cared that he was alive. and all in that instant, the guard knew he wanted more of that mercy, he wanted more of wherever that truth, that light, that love came from. so he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”. So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.”.

wow. how magnificent is this story?? everything happened so fast, and can easily be missed when reading these two paragraphs in Acts.

there are so many people out there who are hurting right now. people who do not know the eternal truth and hope in Christ. people who think all they can ever live up to is an impossible (false) identity. our true identity lies in the one who made us. we are all image bearers of the One True God. there is only one God, one Truth, one Way, one Life. do not be deceived any longer, in the name if Jesus Christ, may all be set free from the chains of deception which cause despair and hopelessness. turning to our Creator is the Way to everlasting life, and it gives us an actual motivation to rejoice, pray and sing even when we are in the worst of [temporary] circumstances.