Saint Paul and his friend Silas were going to travel to Asia to preach and bring the good news. But, the Holy Spirit instructed them to travel to Macedonia rather than Asia.
Philippi was the first Macedonian city they arrived at. They received the hardest beating they would ever receive in their lives the moment they began to preach. They were dumped in a dungeon after being beaten up and battered.
The dungeon was so small that a piece of metal stuck out in the middle. To get around this, they put a pole on St. Paul’s stomach and a metal rod through it, which chained his hands and legs to the floor. He is barely breathing.
He is gushing blood. He’s been cut. He has bumps on him. He is also breathing heavily. Silas, his companion, is also. Saint Paul turned to Silas, barely able to speak, and asked, “What would we have been doing by now if we were in Asia? There, what would we have done?” “We would have been treated like kings,” remarked Silas, adding that people throughout Asia were clamouring to meet Paul and Silas. “We would have been worshipping the Lord and singing Halleluljah, and everyone would have been singing along with us”, Silas said.
“There is no distinction between being treated like royalty and being treated like a slave,” stated Saint Paul. “Everything is well, Silas. Nothing will prevent us from giving thanks to the Lord right here. Let’s honour him now.”
Indeed, they did. They gave thanks and honour to the Lord. What took place next? An earthquake happened. The prison’s doors were all ajar. The rest of the detainees also had their hands and feet freed from the chains. This happened at night. The prison warden believed that his head would be chopped. Recall that there was no power at the time. No light. So he carried a lantern as he moved through the hallways. What was it he saw? He observed each prisoner remained in their cell. Not one of them had left. He was taken aback.
The reason: they stated they were listening to Paul and Silas praying to their God and their God did this and released us. Thus, Paul was visited by the pagan prison guard. “We thought we were free when we were out there, going and coming, eating and drinking and doing whatever,” all of the detainees claimed to the jail officer. “We believed that this liberty. In prison, we have experienced actual freedom for the first time in our lives. For we had encountered the actual divine God in prison. That’s why we knew what freedom meant when we encountered God. Which is why we were unable to flee. For if we venture outside, we will be restrained by chains. Satan is shackling us with the world’s wealth and pleasures out there. I would rather be incarcerated than free since I met Jesus Christ there.”
Be thankful.
If Paul had whinged and complained when they would have been treated as kings had they gone to Asia, and yet, the Holy Spirit sent them to Macedonia when God knew what was going to happen to them. They were bashed up and put into the dungeons.
The explanation is straightforward: God desired for certain souls in Philippi to be saved. It was necessary to release these souls from Satan’s bonds. These are not the same as the metal chains that can restrain us but are also simple to untangle. However, the bonds of Satan, my fellow believers, are internal to us and can only be released by God.
Examples of these chains? The chains of self-pride. The chain of jealousy. The chain of envy. The chain of hatred. The chain of lust.
Unless you need the Lord, you are never free, brother. Unless you need the Lord, you are never free, sister.
So, thank you, Lord. I am going to praise you, Lord. And when you praise Him in your heart in your most difficult time, then you will see the wonder of God, right before your very eyes.
Laudo Dominum.
