Up to Something: Hope in DespairSýnishorn

Day 3

“If I know one thing, You’re up to something. Breakthrough is coming, You’re up to something.”

For our final day of our “Up To Something” devotional - we are diving right into Acts 16 with one of our favorite records of radical breakthrough within the Bible. There was a slave-girl with an evil spirit inside her that she predicted the future with. After days of following Paul and Silas around shouting and announcing their presence, Paul called the spirit out of her in the name of Jesus (even though he did it out of annoyance). Her owners, who were making money off of her fortune-telling, took Paul & Silas to the authorities where they were ultimately flogged and put in prison.

This miraculous moment happened where an impure spirit was cast out of a woman, and yet it ended in prison. Doing the right thing led to pain & captivity. And honestly, that’s tough for our human brains to process. It’s unfair. It’s frustrating. It's hard. Yet, Paul & Silas respond in such a beautiful way: they prayed and they worshiped.

Which quite possibly may be the opposite of how I react to any sort of pain or challenge - especially when I was doing everything “right”. Nevertheless, the response of Paul & Silas was countercultural and in the midst of that - breakthrough happened. An earthquake shook the foundation and all of the prisoners were free.

We see in verse 27, the jailer was ready to meet his death. Why is this? In this historical context, a jailer would be punished by death if prisoners escaped on his watch. He knew what was coming and was ready to make it go by quicker, yet Paul cried out that everyone was still there. “The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 16:29-31).

And what began with a miraculous earthquake ended in the jailer being baptized in Christ alongside His entire family (v. 33).

That being said, this begs the question: where could God be turning your imprisonment into a baptism? Where could He be creating a breakthrough for someone else through your story and your pain? What if it was all worth it?

While Paul & Silas were being beaten by the crowds and thrown in jail for a simple act of Christ - they probably weren’t actively thinking “there is purpose in this”, but they had a deep relationship with Christ that actively showed up by the time they found themselves in the prison cell. They knew that God was up to something. They believed it. They lived it.

May we do the same today.

Take a moment to listen to “Up To Something” by Red Rocks Worship and pray for opportunities to see God at work. He is always willing to make a way. Amen.