Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.
Every story and account found in the Word of God has both a natural and spiritual implication. The story found in the 16th Chapter of the Book of Acts about Paul and Silas in prison, is no exception. There are many lessons to learn from this single Passage of Scripture, both in the natural and in the spiritual.
ALL Scripture is Inspired by God and is intended to show us God’s Way for our lives (Doctrine and Righteousness) and to bring conviction and correction to us. This is how the Holy Spirit teaches us things and equips us for the Work of the Lord which we have all been created and called to do. All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in Righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
It’s rather easy to determine what the Holy Spirit wants to teach us in the natural but to determine the Spiritual implication we must dig a little deeper. In this story, the dungeon is a picture of Satan’s world. It was a dark, damp, and painful place with no sewer system or electricity. It was a filthy, gross place that stunk.
The prisoners represent all the spiritually lost people in this world; those who don’t know the Love of Christ. These people are bound up in chains of sin and continuously tortured by the enemy, his demons, and all the evil in his world. His goal is to torture them to the point of insanity, and eventually kill them. The thief comes but to kill, steal, and destroy. (John 10:10) Death in the natural and spiritual is ALWAYS Satan’s end game.
When Paul and Silas were thrown in prison with the bad guys, they sang a different song. Their song was not of pain, suffering, sorrow, and blasphemy, but a song of praise and joy in the midst of horrible conditions. The other prisoners had never heard such a song before.
In the spiritual, Paul and Silas represent Christ in this story. They brought Light to the dark world. They represented Goodness and Joy in the midst of evil and torment. The Light of the Lord Jesus Christ that they brought with them, lit up the entire prison. Their song of praise overpowered that of all the other prisoners and cause these men to take notice.
We are not told how many other prisoners were in prison with Paul and Silas but it could have been quite a large number. However many it was doesn’t really matter. What does matter is the fact that the Light that they brought to the prison and their song of praise to God, changed the entire atmosphere.
It is from this story that we have the song that goes, This Little Light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. We all know this song as a song for little children, but it is far more than that. It is one that should be sung by all of us all the time especially when we find ourselves in Satan’s cold, cruel world.
Jesus said, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
The Light of the Lord will……….turn the tide……...in this dark, cruel world.
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine! Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
