Hard Paths

Wednesday January 14, 2015

When I was hiking in a park with my grandfather, our trail lassoed a lake at the bottom of a valley. As we walked, several smaller paths broke away from the main trail. Each time we came to a fork in the road, my grandfather let me choose which way to go. I always picked the steepest, rockiest, most difficult choice. My grandfather sighed a few times, but he took on the most challenging path for my sake.

Paul and Silas consistently chose the hard path for Jesus. Even after being beaten and placed in a dungeon in Philippi (Acts 16:23-24), they praised God in their chains. "Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God" (v.25). They glorified God when it would have been easier to simply complain and cry.

Choosing the hard path again, Paul and Silas stayed inside the jail when an earthquake presented them with an opportunity to escape. Because of the quake, "all the [prison] doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!" (v.26).

When the jailer realised what had happened, he assumed the convicts had fled, so he prepared to commit suicide. Deciding to bless the one who placed the shackles on him, Paul shouted, "Stop! Don´t kill yourself! We are all here!" (v.28). The relieved jailer then escorted Paul and Silas out of the prison. Later, he and his entire household committed themselves to Christ (v.34).

Although things went well for Paul and Silas in Philippi, the path that honours God is rarely pleasant. It often requires courage and self-discipline, for the end may be uncertain. But no matter what we face, we know that Jesus will never leave us on the hard path alone (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). - Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Read
Acts 16:22-37
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody´s chains came loose. The jailor woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don´t harm yourself! We are all here!"
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." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God- he and his whole family.
When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order : "Release those men." The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace."
But Paul said to the officers : "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."

Hebrews 11:24-26
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh´s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

Daniel 3:19-29
Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king´s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren´t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
They replied, "Certainly, O King."
He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!"
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefecs, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king´s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."

Question to Ponder
What´s the most difficult thing you´ve done (or avoided doing) for the sake of Jesus? 
How does His sacrifice inspire you to choose the hard path for Him?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue