If you had told yourself ten years ago where you’d be today, would your old self believe it? Maybe you never expected to have a large family, but here you are. Maybe you never expected to be in the same old job, but here you are. Maybe you never expected to be in a nursing home, but here you are. Maybe you never expected to live in this city, or state, or even country. But whether we planned for it or not, here we are in this season of life.
Singing in Prison
There are lots of people in the Bible who never expected to be in the situations they found themselves in either. Esther never expected to be a queen. Ruth never expected to be a poor young widow. Joseph never expected to hear his fiancée tell him she was pregnant with God’s Son.
And Paul, formerly Saul the persecutor, certainly never expected to be imprisoned for spreading the good news about Jesus Christ, but that’s where he and Silas found themselves in Acts 16. The man who had once put Christians to death or in prison was facing that himself.
And what did Paul do in prison? Did he doubt the goodness of God? Did he question if it was really Jesus who had appeared to him on the road to Damascus all that time ago? No, the Bible says that in this situation, Paul and Silas “were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (v. 25). They took this opportunity to pray, to praise God, and to sing! God used Paul right where he was to reach others with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
God Uses You
God calls us to do the same. He calls us to praise Him and spread the Gospel right where we are, in this season of life, whether we expected to be here or not, whether we plan on staying in this season for long or not. God uses both the wonderful and the difficult times in our lives as seasons to grow our faith and reach out to others.
What might that look like? I had a friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She decided to come dressed to all of her medical appointments with fun socks, a superhero cape, or a silly outfit to make herself feel more at ease and to strike up a conversation with the doctors and nurses caring for her. She developed relationships with the people she interacted with, praying with them, inviting them to church, and showing them the love of Christ. God did this amazing work through her extremely difficult situation, and she also grew in her faith and trust in God. Incredible.
I had another friend who was a doctor in another country before moving to America with her husband and three young children. She went from being a high-powered professional to an immigrant stay-at-home mother who didn’t know anyone. And while she was glad to be in this season of life, she was lonely. She decided to join a local mother’s group to help support other young moms and offer Christian fellowship to them, as they encouraged one another and prayed over the joys and challenges of raising little ones. God was present with her, grew her faith, and used her situation to lift others up.
Trust Him
Just as God used Esther, Ruth, Joseph, Paul, and my two friends, God uses you too. Right where you are. It may not be where you expected to be—it may not even be where you want to be. But God, who sent His one and only Son to die and rise again for you, now calls you to be like Paul, to sing and pray and glorify Him wherever you find yourself. Trust Him, and know that He will nurture your faith in this season and use you to share the Good News with those around you.
Now that’s something to sing about!
Scripture: ESV®.
Download this month’s Everyday Faith Calendar, which takes you through Paul’s letter to the Philippians. You will find short Bible readings and prayer prompts for each day.
