Playlist: Fight Songs — Thursday
Acts 16:25-26
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. (NIV)
In the summer of 2017, my girlfriend and I got lost hiking in Shawnee National Forest. We wandered around the wilderness for six hours, filled with fear and uncertainty as the bright blue sky faded into the starry night. Eventually, we found a clearing where we had enough cell service to get in touch with the local sheriff’s office. They guided us to the nearest road where a deputy gave us a ride back to our cars at the trailhead. We made it home around 1am.
As embarrassing as it may be to admit, I’m not sure what we would have done if not for that deputy. We had already been taken captive by our fears and frustrations. We didn’t turn to prayer and worship, trusting that God would protect us during the dark night in the middle of the forest. We certainly didn’t follow the example of Paul and Silas in Acts 16, when they were flogged and thrown into prison by Roman magistrates.
In the darkness of a cramped prison cell, it would have been easy for them to succumb to their fear, their anxiety, or their anger. But they didn’t pick up those weapons to fight this battle; no, worship was their weapon of choice. With no words left to say, Paul and Silas began to sing. That’s right… in the midst of their physical and emotional anguish, they lifted their eyes and arms toward heaven and began to praise the Most High God—the only One able to bring about deliverance, able to rescue them. Just then, the earth shook and the ground quaked. The prison doors were opened, and Paul and Silas regained their freedom (and they got to share the gospel with the jailer on their way out!).
Yet again, their praise preceded God’s provision. Worship was their weapon, and it won them the battle. What about you? What’s your weapon of choice? Do you pick up anger and bitterness, harsh words and gossip? Do you pick up jealousy and envy, entitlement and pride? Or do you pick up the living and active Word, sharper than any double-edged sword? Like Paul and Silas, pick up worship today and see how it fares for you!
Thursday’s Reflection
Listen to UPPERROOM’S “Surrounded (Fight My Battles)” and consider what weapons you have a tendency to pick up whenever you’re in conflict. Pray that God would give you the strength to lay down anything that is not of Him and equip you instead with the full armor of God so that you can confidently step out onto the battlefield today.