Praising God in the Storm

Acts 16:26, says that Paul and Silas at midnight were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Paul and Silas had been unjustly imprisoned in Philippi because they had cast out a demon from a young slave who was being exploited by her owners for money since she had a spirit of divination. When they lost their source of income, they had Paul and Silas imprisoned for disturbing the peace.  Now most of us, if we were in their predicament would be whining at midnight, not singing praises, but Paul and Silas chose to praise God in the storm.

The reason that they could do that is because they knew that they could know Christ more by sharing in his sufferings and that God will work even their imprisonment into something good if they love Jesus and are called according to His purpose. They understood that we are in the hands of a sovereign God. His providence over our lives is good and compassionate but it does not always mean that we will be free from pain.  God may send us into times of trials and tribulations that on our own may be too difficult to bear, but He is with us, and He strengthens us and comforts us and gives us hope that we will one day have a final deliverance from all pain in glory one day. And so, they sang.

There are still men and women of God who know this well and continue to praise God in the storms of life. One of these is my good friend Randy Dabbs. Randy has suffered with one health problem after another. He has been on the waiting list for a new kidney for eight years now. Yet, in the midst of the storms of life, He still manages to praise God and tell others about the goodness of God. Randy preaches and teaches about faith in Jesus Christ. He is a living example of what true faith in God looks like. He is one of my heroes of the faith, of whom I follow his example as he follows the example of Christ. Like Paul and Silas, and Randy, we must all choose to praise Him in our storms.