When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” (Acts 16:27-28)
If you are like a lot of people, you may find yourself nervous raising the subject of religion with the people around you. There’s an old adage about two things you never discuss over Thanksgiving dinner – politics and religion.
But in reality, if you aren’t pushy and instead model graciousness, there are a lot of opportunities to share about the God we meet in Jesus. Many of them will be received better than you think!
In the verses above, the Apostle Paul is in jail for healing a slave of a demon that possessed her. Her owners liked the slave being possessed – it made her into a sideshow character and there was good money to be made parading her around. So when Paul healed her, they were angry and had Paul and his companions tossed into prison. Surely that would shut these Christians up!
But Paul and his companion could be heard singing hymns from their prison cell. Even in jail they kept witnessing to the joy they felt as followers of Jesus. When an earthquake shook the prison walls and they were set free from their chains, it would have seemed logical for them to flee. In fact, the jailer assumed they had left and was ready to kill himself – he would be in big trouble if they escaped under his watch.
Paul and Silas had not fled – they were still there! Their witness and the fact that they didn’t flee meant the jailer was suddenly open to the fact that these weren’t normal prisoners – there was something different about them! He invited them to eat with his family and he and his whole household were baptized and joined Paul and Silas as followers of Jesus.
This is a reminder that some of our most impactful witnessing may happen, not when it is easy, but in the midst of times when life is hard. How our faith in God helps us handle adversity with grace opens the door for the Holy Spirit to help people see and trust in God in new and sometimes surprising ways. So when you find yourself in a hard spot, don’t hunker down and just try to hide until it’s over. Keep your head up and your eyes and ears open to the people around you.
