(Acts 16:25-26 ) // 20 July 2017
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” (NKJV)
This is a breakthrough Word for many of Abba’s kids who have been waiting for answers. God has something amazing awaiting you. He is causing a shift in your life and it is going to happen suddenly!
Here we see Paul and Silas locked up and in chains in the depths of a very nasty jail. They had been unfairly arrested and beaten mercilessly from head to toe. Their feet were in stocks, and they were unable to even move in a dark, slimy, rat infested prison cell. However, at the darkest hour of the night, when they were thirsty and hot, and their wounds felt unbearably painful, they turned their hearts to Jesus and they lifted up their praise! They did not ask “why Lord?” and they did not pray for the situation to change. They did not regret their own act of kindness that brought them there, and they did not blame themselves or God. Instead, they opened their mouths and gave God glory, honor and praise. They knew that omnipotent, Yahweh God could change their situation in a moment, and they acknowledged His Lordship over their lives, as they worshiped Jesus just because He is worthy.
Dear friend, there is a miracle just waiting to happen for you and it is going to be activated by your praise. Maybe you have been feeling hemmed in from every side, blocked from your vision, and feeling helpless and out of control, BUT GOD! Perhaps people have maligned you and misunderstood you and not seen the gifting in you, BUT GOD. Perhaps you are in need of a heavenly healing miracle in your body, BUT GOD. You may have been waiting a very long time to see something change and you may be crying out for help and strength, wondering how much longer, BUT GOD! Dear friend, everything can change today. It is just when you feel things are darkest that you need to offer up some radical praise. This will bring breakthrough on multiple levels, not only for you, but also for people around you who will be affected by you pressing in to heaven. Your worship is going to shake and shatter some old foundations and set the captives free. Your miracle is in your mouth, it is in your heart! Stop focusing on what could have or should have happened and start to thank the Lord for the good thing that has already been seen. Praise Him for who He is. He is amazing, almighty, magnificent El Shaddai, the Ancient of Days, who is and who was and who is to come! He is Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the Lion of Judah who roars over you with a fiery love, and still delights over you tenderly with singing. There is no name higher, no love greater. God is releasing a spirit of breakthrough to you even as you read this, as you decide to lift up your voice and worship the King of kings. Try it right now – just lift up your hands and thank Jesus loudly for a few minutes for what He has done! He is causing a rumbling and a rolling in the spiritual realm. He is bringing forth a shifting and a shaking. The discouragement is lifting, you can see the light breaking into the darkness. He has heard your prayers and seen your tears, and as fill your atmosphere with worship, there is an activation in the supernatural realm. Your world is aligning with His. Your miracle is here!
As you finish reading this message, I believe the Holy Spirit would have you remember two things to take away: 1) “But God” and 2) “Suddenly”. There is no situation so bad or so firmly set in stone that it cannot change in the twinkling of an eye, from its very foundations. We serve the omnipotent God for whom nothing is impossible. To live in Him is to live in the realm of miracles and all possibility, the realm of the “suddenly”. The breakthrough you are going to see is something lasting and permanent, something He is laying down into the very depths of your life, as Holy Spirit replaces bad foundations with strong, good ones. If you find it difficult to worship because of what you are currently going through, begin to think of all that God has done for you, and how He always came through for you. You will be amazed and unable to stop yourself giving thanks and praising Him for His unfailing love for you!
Abba loves you so much, friend. Expect your “suddenly. But God”!
