Acts 16:22-34 ~ having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks

Acts 16:22-34

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio

²² The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. ²⁴ Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶ and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹ And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴ Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

We all face times in our lives where we feel we cannot move forward. We feel we are stuck. And we wonder if God hears us.  Yet we will go forward. And sometimes then we feel unforgiven or stuck again. Christians are, according to marketing surveys, more likely to feel guilty.  Paul was good at not feeling guilty by helping the others around him. He had to be somewhat angry with the jailer for locking him up. He wasn't sure how long he'd be detained. 

Paul could have run off and been like most prisoners we see in movies. Instead, Paul recruits the others to stay and help. Because he stayed, the entire household - in relief, in joy, in the caring - they believed and were saved. 

The Scriptures tell us of the most unlikely things to happen, yet they touch us when we take the time to to look at them in wonder.  We are responsible for the people God gives us. Sometimes at the forfeit of our own rights, but in caring for others, we care for Jesus and we care for ourselves. 

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