When God Shows Up
Acts 16:25-35
In this passage, Paul and Silas were in jail and were praying and singing hymns to God. While they were praying and singing, God shows up!!! He loosed their chains and set them free.
What happened in this passage? First Paul and Silas are singing and praying and others are listening to them. When God shows up He caused a great earthquake that shook the very foundation, the prison doors are opened and the chains are broken!!
There are several things we can learn from this passage of scripture.
1. When God shows up, He knows how to get our attention
2. When God shows up, we must evaluate our spiritual needs
3. When God shows up, we must share with others what God speaks to us or has done for us
We see in this passage as we sing and pray to God, He shows up!! We see that God got the attention of all in the jail that night. He made his entrance into the jail in God’s style. The earthquake shook the very foundation. Not only did God show up to deliver Paul and Silas, He also revealed himself to the others in the jail.
When God shows up, we must evaluate our spiritual needs. When God showed up that night, the jailer was watching and saw God’s great miracle. The jailer was frightened and fearful and as he evaluated his spiritual needs, he asked what he must do to be saved. That is a personal questions that we all must ask when we encounter God.
When God showed up, He not only showed up to deliver and set free Paul and Silas, He also came to save others in the jail. God had a specific agenda, to save others who needed His salvation.
He delivered the jailer, the unsaved. He replaced the frightened and fearful jailer and gave the jailer joy and freedom for him and his household.
What a miraculous story of being set free from the chains that bind us. Many of us wear chains of fear, anxiety, worry, stress. These chains bind us from experiencing the joy that God has for us. When God shows up, He releases those chains, literally breaking them loose, so we can remove them from our lives and experience the joy and salvation of the Lord.
When we pray and sing praises to God, He shows up. God loves to hear his people pray and sing praises to Him. Others may be watching our lives as we sing and pray to the Lord. When that happens, God uses our lives to be a witness to others just as God used Paul and Silas that night in the jail for all who were listening that night.
When God shows up, this opportunity gives us time to evaluate our spiritual needs and call out to God to save us and make us a new person just as the jailer cried for salvation. Just as the jailer, who was fearful and frightened, when God showed up, we too, become fearful and frightened in the presence of the almighty God. When we bring everything to the Lord and ask Him to save us, He shows up with the most beautiful and amazing joy. Joy unspeakable fills our hearts. Our fear vanishes and our heart is full of love and joy to the One who is able to save us from our many sins.
When God shows up, He does so to complete His plan and purpose. His plan and purpose that night was to save the unsaved. Not only the ones that saw His miracle but others experienced salvation as we see the jailers family and household also experienced the salvation from God.
Are we willing to pray and sing praises to God – expecting Him to show up in our lives and our circumstances? Are we willing to allow Him to break us free from the chains that hold us bound so we can experience freedom and joy from our Lord? Are we willing to look into our own hearts and ask the most important questions of all… What must I do to be saved? What must I do to allow God to have full control over my life? Are we willing to accept His salvation and experience the joy of the Lord? Are we willing to allow others to watch our lives and allow God to use our lives to bring salvation to those around us who are watching and needing the Lord?
Lord, help us today to be willing and expecting you to show up! Allow us to see your miracles and be willing to discard the chains that have us bound. Help us to remove those chains and experience your freedom, your joy, your salvation. May our lives be a witness of your great mercy and grace who saves us and forgives us of our many sins. Praise be to God, our Father, forever and ever.