The Secret To Finding Daylight At Midnight
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them" (Acts 16:25, NKJV).
The background text to our focus verse, Acts 16:25, is Acts 16:6-24. In those verses we learn that Paul and Silas were sent to the province of Macedonia by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As they went forward in their charge from God, they began their work in the city of Philippi. There they encountered those who were eager to believe and those who would try to hinder the “Good News” of God.
As Paul and Silas went about their mission of spreading The Gospel of Jesus Christ, they encountered a slave girl and her master. The slave girl had a spirit of divination (fortune telling), by which she made lots of money for her master. By this same spirit, she knew that Paul and Silas served “the Most High God and that they knew the way to salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of The Most High God.”
Paul and Silas’ efforts to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ would soon cause conflict with the master of the slave girl. That conflict would cause the angry slave master and others to drag Paul and Silas before the magistrate on false charges. After hearing the false charges, the magistrate ordered Paul and Silas to be beaten with whips that cut deep into their bodies and placed in prison.
As the result of such an order, Paul and Silas were placed in the maximum security section of the prison, and shackled to the wall, while yet bleeding profusely. “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”
As I seek to unveil “The Secret To Finding Daylight At Midnight”, one needs to know that “midnight may be a chronological point on the face of a clock” or it may be “the agony” in one’s soul as we encounter the trials of life and faith as we travel life’s uneven journey. In the case of Paul and Silas, the text does not reveal to us how they could know that they had arrived at “chronological midnight”.
However, the text does make clear how they may have arrived at “midnight” in the depth of their souls.
They were falsely accused, beaten bloody, placed in maximum security and shackled to the wall. And yet, in the depth of these horrific conditions, Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God.
How were Paul and Silas able to keep on praying and keep singing praises to God in “the midnight” of their pain and suffering? What or Who gave Paul and Silas the strength and capacity to endure such horrific suffering and yet placed prayer in their hearts and heaven’s songs on their lips? “And at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and signing praises unto God.”
Before “Midnight” came Paul and Silas knew:
They were in the hands of Jesus Christ and no one nor anything could take them out of the Lord’s hand! (Jn. 10:28); “And at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God”
They were living in the constant “abiding care of Jesus Christ! (Jn. 15:1-8); “And at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God”
That through Jesus Christ they were more than conquerors and that nothing could separate them from the love of God! (Rom. 8:37-39); “And at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God”, and;
They carried in their heart “The Promising Presence of Christ” that would give them all that they needed for every trial of life and faith that they would encounter as they went about advancing the cause and kingdom of Jesus Christ throughout the world! (Hebr. 13:5b-6); “And at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God”.
In Matt. 28:20, Matthew records the final words of Jesus Christ as follows, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
“The Secret To Finding Daylight At Midnight” is to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior before “midnight” comes in your life. If you have cast your lot and life with Jesus Christ, The Light of The World, He will continue to allow His light to shine brightly through every trial of life and faith we shall encounter! (Amen.)
Prayer: Lord God, as we seek to live into our faith in Jesus Christ strengthen us for every trial of life and faith that we shall encounter. Help us all to remember that at our darkest hour that Jesus Christ is still “The Light of the World” and our personal Lord and Savior. And, He has promised to be with every Believer until the “end of time”. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Rev. Larron D. Jackson, DMin Ministry and Mission Coach
Denver Cluster
