DAD'S RAMBLING -- SINGING AT MIDNIGHT
"But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." (Acts 16:25)
It is hard to sing hymns to God at midnight when it is dark and you are in pain. But that is what Paul and Silas did.
As Romans, they had been illegitimately stripped of their clothing, beaten with rods and thrown into prison with their feet put in stocks. They were cold in that dungeon, having been stripped of their clothes, in pain from the beating, sitting in discomfort, and humiliated. All of this because of the good they had done by delivering a girl from demon-possession. In spite of it all, they prayed and sang praises to God.
Midnight is a dark time -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. To sing praises to God during this time is a mark of our faith in God. This was a testimony to the other prisoners.
Powerful things can happen when we praise God at midnight. It is not easy to praise God during the dark times of pain, but our expression of faith can affect those around and encourage their faith plus open avenues for God to minister to us personally.
The songster put it this way: "You can have a melody down in your heart, when it's achinging, almost breaking. Even though the sorrow makes the teardrops start, you can have a melody down in your heart. You can have a song in your heart in the night. After every mile. After every trial. Anyone can sing when the sun is shining bright, but you can have a song in your heart at night."
So when we are in the darkness of midnight, we can still have a song in our hearts, even if we don't feel like it. May God be glorified in our lives at midnight.
Love, Dad
No comments:
Post a Comment