God Can Use Problems Too

And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 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 16:22-33)

Revival doesn’t always begin where you expect. Here, Paul and Silas have been beaten, chained, and thrown into the darkest part of the prison, but at the bleakest hour of the day, they refused to give in to despair or fear. In the midst of a tough situation, they lifted their voices and sang so loudly that the other prisoners could hear them. The earth responded to their praise by shaking, and the metal loosened. 

A jailer on the night shift was responsible for keeping these men in shackles. He knew that the possible consequence of their escaping was his death, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. As he was about to kill himself, Paul cried out to stop him and shared the gospel. He was so moved that he asked Paul and Silas to come to his home and share the story with his entire family.

Practical Application

God can even use the difficulty you're experiencing to bring greater glory and kingdom growth. Keep praying, keep praising; God has a plan.

Acts 4:31; Acts 12:7