Circumstances for Good News
OPENING PRAYER:
Father, help me to see my brokenness as an opportunity to share your love. Please show me that through the highs and lows you are there.
“The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.”
REFLECT:
I bet Paul and Silas did not think their stint in jail would be an opportunity to share their faith. This passage shows that God can take any situation, good or bad, and use it for his glory. God can take our joys and let his blessings shine through, and he can also take our brokenness and use it to show his mighty love.
Look at the powerful story of Job. Job, as described in the Bible, is a man who is blameless and upright. God allows Satan to cause pain and suffering in Job’s life. Reading through the story, it’s easy to wonder why God would allow all this anguish to fall on Job. Job never does see why God is allowing all these terrible things to happen in his life, but Job does see God in all the pain. Job 19:25-27 says: “But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust. Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh. I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.” (CSB translation) Job does not lose sight of God and God uses Job’s life as a testimony for others.
Just as Paul and Silas could have seen their prison sentence as something unredeemable, so Job could have taken the hardship in his life and turned against God. How can we take any circumstance of our lives, good or bad, and use them to show the love of Christ to others? Every joy and every pain that we experience is a chance to let others see Christ in us. Let’s try to use the lens of God’s mercy and grace to evaluate all that we go through and let his love color the way we share our lives.
APPLY:
Think of a happy or joyful time in your life and a difficult or hard time in your life. How was God working through these situations? Sometimes it is very difficult to see how God is working. We may never know, this side of Heaven, how God is using our lives in his bigger story. Viewing every experience in light of God’s mercy and grace can help us continue to move forward. How can we show Christ’s love to others when we talk about the highs and lows of our life?
CLOSING PRAYER:
Father, I know that you love me. Even when I do not understand, help me to see your love for me. Let your goodness and mercy shine through me in everything that I say and do.