Hallelujah Even Here: A 5 Day Devotional by Lydia LairdÀpẹrẹ

“Somehow, I bow, and my heart gets free
Too far, too hard becomes so easy…
I find peace here in surrendering.”

There’s a story in Acts 16 that is incredible… Paul and Silas are traveling and sharing the gospel, and God gives Paul a vision of a man asking for help in Macedonia.  So, they obey and head to Macedonia just to be thrown into prison after they get there.  At this point, I feel like I'd be having a serious heart-to-heart with God about why in the world He'd ask me to go somewhere just to have me beaten and imprisoned.  But, thankfully, Paul and Silas knew enough about God’s character that even this couldn’t shake their faith. In fact, they decide they want to spend their night in jail worshiping God!  Verse 25 says, “About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake… immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.”  

When the prison guard sees what's happened, he freaks out and is about to commit suicide, but before he can, Paul stops him and assures him that no prisoners have escaped.  The guard is so amazed that he literally approaches Paul and says “I want what you have!” Fast forward, and the guard and his entire family are saved and baptized.

Okay, that’s a powerful story.

We can read it and see that God had an awesome plan in store from the beginning, but imagine what Paul and Silas must have thought?  They couldn’t see the big picture. They could only see what was right in front of them, which was an absolutely hopeless situation.  They didn't understand every element of their broken circumstance, yet they chose to worship God for who they knew Him to be, even in the midst of a cold, dark prison. And that choice made all the difference, not only for them, but for many others whose lives were now eternally changed!   

Whatever you’re walking through right now may seem so hopeless and confusing, but we serve the same God that Paul and Silas did, and He sees the BIG picture.  What the enemy means for evil, God will always work together for good. (Romans 8:28)

Someday, you may look back on this season and see that He was not only bringing you closer to Him, but was also preparing you to impact others in a way that you couldn’t have unless you had walked through this very trial. I know it may be hard to see, and that’s okay. What seems too hard to us is so easy to God!  My prayer today is that both you and I choose faith over feeling as we lift our hands in worship in the midst of the darkness!  He is able to bring beauty out of breaking, even here.

With you and love you, 

Lydia