Broken but Priceless Ministries
Follow Us:
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Broken but Priceless Ministries
    • Erin Elizabeth Austin
    • Josie Siler
    • Kathy Sebright
  • BLOG
    • Blog
    • Answers for Everyday Life
  • Magazine
    • The Magazine
    • Resources
  • Prayer
    • Request Prayer
    • Become a Prayer Partner
  • Events
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Erin!
    • Public Speaking

Hedged In

12/31/2011

Comments

 
I'm lying in a hospital bed getting an IV bag of nutrients. For the past six months, I've had to do this once a month. However, today marks the beginning of my receiving these nutrients via IV twice a month. My body is doing a lousy job of maintaining the correct nutrient levels. I'm also currently taking antibiotics. The only problem is the past several times I've needed antibiotics my body hasn't registered that it has an infection, so I have to get very sick before I realize there's a problem. Added to all of this is the fact I've had zero energy for several months.

"Why am I telling you this," one might wonder. Because auto-immune diseases, along with most chronic illnesses, don't usually just give a person a bad day physically here and there. Most of us measure our bad days in spans of weeks and sometimes months. And when that happens, it is extremely easy to focus on all the problems in our lives rather than focus on the good.
Over the past week, God has kept bringing me back to Acts 16. In this passage of Scripture, God tells Paul and Silas to go to Macedonia. After they arrive in Macedonia, they are beaten, thrown in jail, and chained. Not what one would expect to happen when he is obedient to what God has called him to do!

There's a part of me that wonders how Paul and Silas immediately responded to their circumstances. I say this because verse twenty-three and twenty-four describes what happened to Paul and Silas, but verse twenty-five says, "But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God." If you study the original language in which this text was written, you see that it's very clear there is a gap of time from when they were thrown in jail to when they began praising God. I might be completely wrong in what I'm about to say, but I think for a little while Paul and Silas were focused on their chains and imprisonment.

It's understandable. I think the majority of us can say we have the tendency to focus on our own chains - chains of sickness, chains of financial burdens, chains of family strife, and the list goes on and on. But what God has shown me through Paul and Silas is we may not be responsible for the circumstances in life that overwhelm us, but we are responsible for the way we respond to those circumstances. Rather than being fixated on our chains, we should be focused on our Savior. Trusting God can be the difference between going under or overcoming our chains.

Praising God made all the difference in Paul and Silas's situation. Their chains were loosed and the prison doors opened. Not only that, but the prison guard and his whole family came to know the Lord because of Paul and Silas's witness.

What a great testimony to us all! Life may have us hedged in with no way to escape the trials we are facing, but God is with us. If for no other reason than that, we have a reason to praise our awesome God. I don't know if praising God will open the prison doors and change our circumstances as it did for Paul and Silas, but I guarantee it will change our outlook.

"This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I have hope in Him.' " ~ Lamentations 3:21-24

(c) January 19, 2011

Comments
    Email Subscription

    Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.


    Picture
    Erin Elizabeth Austin

    Author

    Erin Elizabeth Austin is a writer and speaker with a passion to help people find healing in the midst of their brokenness.

    If you want to contact Erin directly please click here.


    Picture
    Josie Siler

    Contributor

    Josie Siler, like millions of others, is living with chronic illness. She is eager to share the hope and joy that she has found in Christ, whether that is in a church, at a women’s retreat, over a cup of hot cocoa, or through a blog post.
    Click here to email Josie.


    Archives

    November 2018
    October 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    Categories

    All
    A New Perspective
    Angry At God
    Believing God
    Discovering Joy
    Embracing Who God Created You To Be
    Fighting Feelings Of Low Self Worth
    Fighting Feelings Of Low Self-Worth
    Learning To Thrive
    Names Of God
    Overcoming Bitterness
    Prayer
    Questioning God's Goodness
    Questioning God's Love
    Rising Above The Pain
    The Armor Of God
    The Names Of God
    When Hope Is Lost


    RSS Feed

Website by Business Notes LLC --- Photo Credits: Josie Siler