How
Christians react to trouble matters a great deal. It matters because we all will endure
hardship at some point, whether through our own poor choices, the malice of
others, or accidents for which no one is to blame. Trouble will come to people of faith as it
comes to everyone else. Being a believer
in Jesus Christ does not exempt any of us from physical, financial, or
emotional turmoil; anybody who preaches otherwise is ignoring the clear
teaching of Scripture on this subject.
How we respond to it also matters because the Lost are watching. Those who don’t have a relationship with God
through Jesus are watching to see if what we have is as valuable as we
claim. If our reaction to trouble is no
better than their reaction would be, would difference is our faith making? This isn’t about holding grief or sorrow in
and pretending they don’t exist, that’s not the solution at all, but rather
about having perspective and persevering through the difficult times because of
the hope that we have in God.
On the second missionary journey, Paul and Silas faced trouble
in the form of any angry mob whose racists charge against them as troublemakers
resulted in a severe (and illegal for they were both Roman citizens) flogging
and jail term. The pain and humiliation
of that beating was very real, as was the clear injustice of the violation of
their rights. How did Paul and Silas
respond? With prayer and singing that
very night in the jail cell. I can
understand the prayer; we all lean on prayer more when times are tough, but the
singing? How can you sing when your back
is a bloody mess, at the hands of those who hate people like you, while you
were trying to do the work of God? Such
a response can only be an act of grace, from God, to his people through the
power of the Holy Spirit.
As Paul and Silas prayed and sang, the rest of the
prisoners were listening. When an
earthquake opened the doors of the prison, they didn’t run; they had heard
something worth sticking around for.
When the jailer saw the doors he was going to kill himself out of shame,
but the reaction of Paul and Silas to suffering had kept the inmates at the
jail and thus saved the jailer’s life.
When he fell trembling before them his question was clear, “Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?” Why did he ask
such a question? Because Paul and Silas
had demonstrated by their reaction to trouble that they knew the answer. That very evening this man and his whole
family became believers and were baptized.
How we respond to trouble matters.
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