And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Acts 16:23-24 (ESV)
In 1993, Charles Colson received the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. The $1 million prize was the largest prize for achievement in any field. Colson was a political operative who was involved in the Watergate Scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. In 1974, Colson was convicted on charges of obstructing justice and served seven months in federal prison. Colson was not a follower of Christ at the time, but while he was in prison he was visited and ministered to by several Christian friends, and he would later profess his faith in Christ. His conversion later led to the founding of Prison Fellowship in 1976. In response to this award, Colson said, "Out of tragedy and adversity come great blessings. I shudder to think of what I would have been if I had not gone to prison."
That is an incredible perspective on a very difficult situation. Church Colson went to prison because he broke the law of the land and he acknowledged that he deserved to be there, but he also acknowledged that without his prison experience he probably wouldn’t have come to know the Lord, or start Prison Fellowship Ministry.
Church Colson thanked God for his prison experience, and Paul and Silas thanked God in spite of their prison experience. In Acts 16 they were arrested and thrown into jail in Philippi. They were not there because they had broken the law of the land, they were there because they had broken down some of the strongholds of the enemy. They had taken territory that had belonged to the enemy when this young girl was set free from the spirit that controlled her. As a result Paul and Silas were beaten and put in prison. You and I will probably never be put in a physical prison for following Jesus, but you can believe we will be opposed by our spiritual enemy. In this passage we see three tactics of the enemy:
1. Intimidation (pressure,threats)
In v22 the jailer gave instructions to have Paul and Silas beaten. We may not be physically beaten by the enemy, but he may try to intimidate us in other ways. He may try to plant intimidating thoughts in our minds - thoughts like, “God can’t use you to make a difference, you’ve sinned too much, you don’t have enough faith, you don’t have enough talent or ability. You’re not good enough. No one is going to listen to you. You can’t share the gospel because you don’t know enough, no one will listen to you.”
Have you heard any of those talking points in your head? I read a fascinating statistic recently: research indicates that the average person talks to himself or herself about 50,000 times a day and 80% of our self-talk is negative. Where does that come from? It comes from a negative spiritual influence in our lives that is trying to keep us from living the life God desires us to live. We say negative things to ourselves. So here’s what happens: we let what we’re being told is wrong with us, intimidate us and keep is from doing what God has called us to do. We’re focused on the wrong reality, and it intimidates us.
Paul gives some priceless advice in Philippians 4:8. It’ a list of eight premeditated cognitive commitments. He says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Don’t be intimidated by the negative, focus on the positive.
