Monday December 28th, 2020
Memorize: Philippians 4:12b
« I, Paul, have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens. »
Read: Acts 16:16-28
When Paul and Silas were in Philippi, they set a slave girl free from an evil spirit that lived in her. The girl’s owners were furious because she had made money for them by telling people what would happen in the future.
So they dragged Paul and Silas to the marketplace and had them stripped and beaten. Then they took Paul and Silas and threw them in jail. The jailer—who would be sentenced to death if they escaped—locked them in the inner dungeon and put their feet in wooden clamps.
At about midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises, there was a great earthquake! The prison doors swung open and the prisoners’ chains fell off. The jailer—who had been sleeping—was so afraid that he was about to kill himself with his sword. But Paul yelled, “Don’t do it! We are all here.”
Will praising God change my difficult situation?
From what happened to Paul and Silas, it seems that when we praise God in trying circumstances, He sets us free from our troublesome situation.
Paul and Silas probably had no idea that their praise songs were like a key to their prison cell. The fact that they didn’t try to escape shows that they were quite happy to stay in the cell—if that’s where God wanted them to be. Their praise songs were bringing glory to God; blessing the other prisoners and helping them to feel the peace and joy of the Lord.
Praising the Lord in faith may well bring a change to your situation because He is such an awesome and powerful God. But even if you are not set free from your troubles straight away, singing praise songs to God will set your heart free.
Study question
1 – In your own words, explain in detail what it means ‘to be content’.
2 – In your own words, explain in detail today’s memory verse.
3 – Why is it very important for us Christians to learn to be content (be happy) with what we have?
Author: Dave Strehler
Text edited by Naomie
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