Few people seem to be as impressive as the Apostle Paul. He was a man who not only spoke and taught of God's mysteries, but he also lived the truth; his lifestyle was married to his revelation in the word of God... Paul's life was literally not his own!
One such instance where this is displayed is Acts 16. Here, we find Paul and Silas unjustly captured by the Romans. They were beaten, tortured, and thrown into the "inner prison". Verse 25 continues: "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway" (Acts 16:25-33).
What a marvelous occurrence! But doesn't it seem a bit strange to you?
Paul and Silas are being tortured! Their feet are being held "fast in the stocks" (vs. 24), a common method of torture in which prisoner's feet were thrust widely apart and forced through holes in wooden walls. It was agony, no doubt. Their relief comes suddenly, as they worship the Lord Jesus at midnight. Without warning, the foundation of the prison is shaken by an earthquake, their bands are loosed, and all the prison doors fling wide open! "We've made it! We can go free! God has heard our cries", Paul and Silas must have exclaimed! However, interestingly, they stay put. They don't fly out of the prison, even when God has seemed to answer their urgent prayers... But why?
As I said, Paul's life was no longer his own. This is a literal statement. Many men may recite these nice, spiritual platitudes, but few actually mean it, and even fewer actually demonstrate it.
What a heart Paul must have had! As he got up from the cold prison floor, finally loosed from his bonds, his prayers answered, he sees a single sleeping Gentile out of the corner of his eye... Finally, he realizes the purpose of this painful venture: God wants to use Paul to minister mercy to his enemy, and salvation to his entire household! And Paul, unlike most of us, actually agrees to God's sovereign plan. Instead of fleeing to his own comfort and safety, Paul chooses to stay behind, and to continue to bare the reproaches of the Gospel (2 Tim 1:8).. "Do thyself no harm: for we are all here", he yells. Paul’s own bonds were utterly insignificant when compared to the eternal salvation of the one who was persecuting him! What a man of God! And what a marvelous example for us to follow. It was no longer about Paul, but about the bigger picture. Likewise, if our lives are not our own, it cannot be about us either. Will we be faithful in God's dealings? Will we say yes to His sovereignty, even when it hurts our flesh, our reputation, our image, our freedom? Of Paul, it could rightly be said, "there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches" (Prov 13:7).
How interesting that God even granted Paul an optional escape. It was almost as if He was testing him, soliciting a proper response. But Paul was a bondservant, a "doulos" in the Greek, a love-slave (Rom 1:1; Phil 1:1; Tit 1:1; etc). He continually said, "I love my Master... I will not go out free" (Exod 21:5)! These were no mere platitudes; this heart was evidenced in Paul's actions too.
Friends, we likewise must choose to remain faithful in the dealings of God. Like Paul, our bonds are often optional: God will only ever deal with you according to the extent you allow Him; He will never force Himself upon you. In the dealings of God, often times, He may even give you a door of escape, and even bless you as you go. But your glorious potential will never be fully realized. You can be a happy Christian, have a happy life, etc., but the investment God has put on the inside of you will never come to fruition if you don’t allow Him to have His PERFECT work, His COMPLETE work in you (Jas 1:4; Lk 21:19).. "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal 6:9).
Friends, what point is there to have true substance if it’s not to become meat for creation? So many of us want spiritual substance, we want the anointing, we want the power of God – but we often want it to ourselves, and for ourselves! But God is looking for a people who will go low and die, so that His glory will manifest through them, not just for them! Paul here is a type of this kind of Christian! Can we literally love not our lives unto death!? Can we literally ask God for His fire (Song 4:16)? Can we, like Paul, honestly say, “keep me in my bonds until the work is complete!”? This was the heart of Jesus, and this will be the heart of His sons that are manifested to the earth in His image! Can we be grateful for our trials and tribulations? Can we honestly thank God for them? Can we be so grateful in fact, that when the chance comes for us to flee, we look over in the corner and see a sleeping Gentile, and we’re more concerned for his well being than our own!?
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom 8:18).
"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:17).
Dear reader, there's a new breed of Christians coming forth in the earth! Christians who care more for the glory of God and His purpose than they do for their own lives. Christians who covet God's anointing, not for themselves, but for those to whom they are sent! What will be said of us? Will we choose to remain faithful in the dealings of God, even to our own carnal detriment?