That was not a good day for Paul and Silas. It was a horrible day. If anyone had reason to complain, they did. They could have said, "Let's think about what has happened to us. Those people told lies about us and whipped us for nothing. That is unfair! What about the despicable way they ripped off our clothes in public and beat us? That was so unfair of them to cast us into prison and put our feet in stocks." However, Paul and Silas did not do that. They did not think on their negative circumstances.

What did Paul and Silas do? Verses 25-28 tell us: "And at midnight [at the darkest hour] Paul and Silas [they did not complain and grumble] prayed, and sang praises unto God [no doubt people were watching them, wondering how they were going to react]: 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."

All the prisoners were right there; no one had escaped.

The Bible says at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, sang songs, and praised the Lord, and all the prisoners heard them. What happened next? There was a great earthquake, the prison doors were opened, and everyone's shackles fell off. You would have thought that most of them would have gotten up and said, "This is our chance to escape! Let's get out of here!" However, that is not what they did. They wanted to see who Paul and Silas were. They were not worried about getting free from prison. No doubt, they wanted to see what Paul and Silas had to offer. Christian friend, people are watching our life.

Verses 28-30 say: "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?" How we react in adversity and the attitudes we take have a great impact on winning souls for God. Paul and Silas could have sat in that prison and felt sorry for themselves, cried over their open wounds, and complained about how they had been wrongly imprisoned and unjustly beaten. Yet, they chose to praise God, and it reaped great rewards.

Friend, as people watch our life, are they drawn to Christ or pushed away because of how we react in adversity? The men in the prison were drawn to Paul and Silas, and the jailer asked, "What must I do to be saved?" Life is not always fair, and the sooner we realize it, the better we can cope with adversity. People are going to wrong us and do things against us. Some may try to do everything they can to destroy us. We might as well be ready to look on the positive side. People may tell lies about us, cheat us, and bring negative reports about us. Nevertheless, we should not dwell on those things. Life may not seem fair, but we must think on good things. Let's take the trial or the persecution that we're going through and turn it around for the betterment of souls.

Paul and Silas suffered persecution. If we've spent any time in the Word of God, we know that the righteous suffer persecution. Therefore, we need to prepare ourself to be ready to react in a positive way, just as Paul and Silas did. Paul and Silas did not see their trial as a place to become discouraged. They saw it as an opportunity to reach out to souls. Are we reacting in a way that draws souls to Christ? Friend, attitude is everything. People can't see what's in our heart, but they can see how we react to things. They can see whether we're really happy in the life that we're living. [ The End ]