Dismissed Doubts
“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. ”
Third, we need to believe that God is in control. Nothing will happen to us that He does not allow. His will will be done, and isn't the fulfillment of His will the outcome we desire? One way or another, He will deliver us. The delivery method, however, is up to Him.
He delivered Noah and his family from the flood.
He delivered Lot and his daughters from Sodom and Gomorrah.
He delivered David from Saul's fury, but only after months of fleeing for his life.
He delivered Daniel from the lion's den and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace, but He did not prevent them from being tormented in the first place.
He delivered Peter from prison and James into heaven.
He delivered Lazarus from the grave but did not deliver Jesus from the pain and suffering of the cross.
We cannot hope to understand His ways, but we can trust that He knows best.
“It is just as important to trust God as it is to obey Him. When we disobey God, we defy His authority and despise His holiness. But when we fail to trust God we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness. In those cases, we cast aspersions upon His majesty and His character. God views our distrust of Him as seriously as He views our disobedience. ”
On this occasion, God chose to send an earthquake to rattle open the prison doors, and while He was at it, He unbound all the chains. I think it's interesting to note the different approach to this prison break in comparison to Peter's prison break a couple of chapters back. In Peter's rescue, he had a personal angel to help him and lead him out of the prison. Paul and Silas had no such companion, but then again, they weren't drowsy from slumber, so perhaps they didn't need one. Whatever the case, it serves to reinforce the truth that God works in numerous ways. Just because He meets a need one way in a particular situation doesn't mean He'll meet the need in the same way at another time. Take Moses, for example. While leading the children of Israel through the wilderness, Moses was once instructed to hit a rock to acquire water while another time he was instructed to speak to the rock. In the New Testament, when Jesus healed the lepers, each time varied. Sometimes he spoke to them while other times he actually touched them. The point is this: God knows the best way to accomplish His will. If He is willing to perform a miracle on our behalf, who are we to question how He brings that miracle about?
