Acts 16:25 Around midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to the LORD—and the other prisoners were listening---suddenly there was a great earthquake: the prison was shaken to its foundations, all the doors flew open—and the chains of every prisoner fell off! [Living Bible translation]
Summary
The Book of Acts was recorded by a biblical medical professional, a physician named Luke. Luke was writing to a Gentile named Theophilus (whose name in Greek means “friend of GOD” or “loving GOD”), chronicling some of the history of the early church. Acts describe a dangerous time in the life of the church. But it was also an exhilarating time for the early church. JESUS had been arrested and crucified. But JESUS had also been resurrected and had visited HIS disciples a number of times. (See Luke 24:34-35; John 20:26-29; Luke 24:50-53). The church was being persecuted. Christians were being tracked down and arrested. But one of its chief persecutors, Saul (whose name was changed to Paul) had a personal encounter with JESUS and later became a staunch defender of the faith. Christians were afraid. But they were also empowered because on the day of Pentecost, THE HOLY SPIRIT was poured out upon all humanity (as prophesied by the prophet Joel, in the Old Testament). See, Act 2 and Joel 2:28-32.
Prior to many of the great “highs” for the believers, there was very often a period of waiting.
For example, after JESUS’ last visit with HIS disciples, JESUS instructed them to wait in the city of Jerusalem for THE HOLY SPIRIT to come and empower them. Luke 24:49 states: “And behold, I send the promise of MY FATHER upon you: but tarry (i.e., wait for) ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” So, the disciples waited. While they waited, the disciples prayed and were busy doing church work (Acts 1:12-26).
When Saul/Paul met JESUS on the Damascus road, there was a brilliant light and Paul fell to the ground. After JESUS told Paul WHO HE WAS, Paul was instructed to go into the city and wait. Acts 9:6 states: “Now get up and go into the city and await my further instruction.” (Living Bible). So, Paul waited. While he waited, Paul fasted and prayed. (See Acts 9:11)
In Acts 16, before Paul’s and Silas’ miraculous exit from jail, there was also a period of waiting. The Bible says that prior to their incarceration, Paul and Silas were physically beaten and thrown into prison. Not wanting to risk their escaping, the jailer put Paul and Silas into an inner dungeon, where the jailer chained Paul’s and Silas’ feet. And there they waited. While they waited, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to the LORD, and literally turned their situation into a “worship service.” Other prisoners, who Paul and Silas may not have even been able to see, “were listening.” Paul and Silas were vigilant, prayerful and stayed woke. What Paul and Silas did, not only affected them but everyone around them! Because of what Paul and Silas did as they waited, the other prisoners were probably all saved and became believers, because even though the physical chains had fallen off all of them and all the doors flew open none of the prisoners left, having found new freedom in listening and hearing about GOD. Even the jailer and his whole household became believers!
But Paul and Silas had to wait until “around midnight” before this miracle occurred.
The Bible says, Noah waited 40 days and nights sheltered with his family in an ark doing what GOD told him to do before he saw the rainbow. (Gen.8-9) The Israelites wandered 40 years in the wilderness, partly due to what they did (being disobedient) and what they did not do (be obedient to GOD).
The Bible has numerous examples of men and women waiting. What they did during the wait often made all the difference in the world to themselves and others.
NEVER TOO LATE TO EXERCISE
In “It’s Never Too Late to Start Exercise, Researchers Find Great Rewards When Mild Exercise Programs Are Started Late In Life,” by Sid Kirchheimer, May 13, 2003, there is a report of a research study involving 9,500 women tracked for 12 years, examining the old adage whether it really is never too late to start exercising. The study was reported in The Journal of The American Medical Association. A researcher began tracking the 9,500 when they were at least 66 years of age. They found that those who went from doing little or nothing to walking just a mile a day slashed their risk of death from all causes and from cancer by nearly half. Their risk of heath disease was reduced by more than a third. The research found that these new exercisers enjoyed nearly as much protection as the woman who was physically active before the study and remained active.
Another researcher found that women who went from being sedentary or walking two miles a week to walking eight miles a week over the six years of the study had “significant life improvements.” See, “It’s Never Too Late to Start Exercise, Researchers Find Great Rewards When Mild Exercise Programs Are Started Late In Life,” by Sid Kirchheimer, May 13, 2003, https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20030513/never-too-late-exercise It was pointed out that most of the women averaged around age 77 and were doing very mild exercises—not running marathons.
Starting Late?
For those late starters to exercise, the experts suggest the following:
- Get a checkup [or at least a doctor's phone check-in]. Consulting your doctor can determine if the exercise you want to do is compatible with your medical history or in the case of a physical check-up, with your lungs and heart. The doctor may also consider other conditions, including any medication you may be taking. If you are diabetic or have high blood pressure you may want to consult your doctor about whether the dosage of your medication needs to be adjusted. (Sometimes people are under the mistaken belief that once they start exercising, they don’t need to continue all their medications or can stop all medications altogether. Remember, ALWAYS consult your doctor about medication changes. If you are concerned about your medications, speak WITH your doctor. Don’t play doctor.)
- Start Slow – Once your physician ok’s your exercise program, start slowly. While you may have read that 30 minutes of exercise a day is good, if you’ve never exercised, you may have to start at “below your comfort level.” Walking just a few minutes daily is better than walking 10 minutes and then not being able to walk the rest of the week.
- Go More Often – A few minutes of exercise may be done several times a day. [For example, a walk up and down a driveway maybe a few minutes or a walk around the house or part of the house maybe a few minutes. [Or raising your legs (walking in place) a few minutes a day, three or four times during the day may be the starting point where you want to increase your number of rotations as you increase your stamina.] According to the experts, ideally, you want to be able to utter a few words or syllables in a few sentences when you’re exercising. You may be exercising too little if you can speak in complete sentences and maybe exercising too much if you can barely talk.
- Do What You Enjoy – If you like being outside, try gardening (raking a few leaves, picking up weeds, raking, bending down or sitting on a pad on the ground and pulling up weeds. Cover several places in a yard, so you’re bending up and down. If you like being inside, try a few wall push-ups, trying raising one knee and then the other to the level of a counter (you may need to hold onto a sturdy chair). Or, if that is too easy, raise your knee, straighten out your leg (flexing or pointing your foot) bring if back and down and then try the other leg. (Again, you may want to hold onto a chair, lean with your back against a wall or just stay seated in a chair (holding onto the sides of the chair) as you do this exercise.
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PRAY, WORK and ENCOURAGE OTHERS AS YOU WAIT
As world leaders continue to report that we are in the grips of a virus, and people around the world shelter-in, for some it may seem like being in prison. Others may feel like they are just always waiting---waiting in lines, waiting for the results of tests, waiting for information from the federal government or state government, or waiting for news about jobs, unemployment, benefits, loans, etc. others, are waiting to hear from loved ones who reside in hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, or other facilities. Students, parents and others may be waiting for news about schools, waiting to see friends, waiting for things to get back “to normal.” There’s a lot of waiting…. everywhere.
What we do while we wait matters. We can pray---one for another, for ministries, families, medical personnel, those who are working to keep things running, those who are suffering, family, friends, neighbors, other countries, and leaders. In this time of “blindness” as to what will happen, we, like Paul, can pray to GOD and read scripture, trying to achieve a better understanding of WHO GOD IS. We can help others, spiritually or financially. We can try to stay in contact with each other, let others know we care and are thinking about them. We can be mindful of our actions because what we do affects ourselves and all our neighbors, at home and abroad.
We can wait on THE LORD, deriving comfort from THE HOLY SPIRIT. So, pray, work, exercise and praise GOD in songs. As we wait, we can also look back and thank GOD for all of the things GOD has already done (including all the things we took for granted) and just continue to TRUST IN THE LORD, with the same confidence as before.
The Bible teaches us that waiting is nothing new. But how we wait matters.
While we wait, pray we BE A BLESSING and BE BLESSED.
