Dazzling Distress
“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. ”
Second, we can delight in the fact that we can identify with Jesus through our suffering. Our trials and afflictions give us just a small taste of what Jesus went through to ensure us a place with Him for all eternity. That realization alone ought to give us the strength to suffer more for Him. Just ask Peter Xu Yongze, the founder of one of the largest religious movements in China.
According to the Chinese Constitution, "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy the freedom of religious belief." Beijing backed up that statement in 1997, saying, "In China, no one is to be punished due to their religious belief.” But Mr. Xu can attest that, sadly, such is not the case. Xu was imprisoned five times and spent a total of eight years in Chinese prisons for sharing the gospel of Christ.
"They say you can believe, but you can't evangelize," Mr. Xu said. "But that is a natural act for Christians. The Bible commands us to preach the gospel."
Despite the opposition and myriad of threats, Christianity is increasing in China by leaps and bounds. This is, in part, because of the valiant efforts of people like Mr. Xu, who understand the joy of sharing in Christ's suffering and doing His will no matter what. His response to his fifth imprisonment was, “Thanks to God’s grace, I have become the companion with all saints in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus."
Mr. Xu is currently living in the United States and is the founder of the Back to Jerusalem Gospel Mission. As it has been since he received his call to preach, his main goal is to evangelize and send the Gospel to the unreached population across the world, including Asia.
Matthew 10:28 says, And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Psalm 56:11 tells us, In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
And Psalm 118:6 reminds us, The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
All three of these verses carry the same message: we need not fear physical suffering. If God is on our side (which He is if we are His children), then we have no reason to be afraid. Yes, the suffering will be unpleasant, but we have the promise that it will be worth it. Not only did Paul and Silas know this truth, but they believed it and acted according to that belief.
Join me tomorrow for part five of Jailhouse Rock!
