YouTube Channel Video Devo
https://www.christianityboard.com/threads/react-or-respond.70113/
“React Or Respond?
Acts 16:23-25 NIV
After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
This passage came up in my devotional morning time the other day. Acts is one of my most favorite books of the Bible as we read about the start of the early church and how passionate people were and how fast the church grew.
This specific story of Paul and Silas in prison always amazes me. The part I am most amazed by is right after verse 24. They’ve been thrown into prison and beaten severely.
PAUSE
If I were in their shoes, I know that I would be frustrated about my situation and probably looking at others, giving them a look of “Can you believe what they just did to us?” Then once in the cell, I know for sure I’d be going through the whole scenario in my head and thinking “What did we do wrong? How could we have avoided that? Can you believe they would do such a thing to us? I think we should file a report and complain to someone about how we were treated.”
UNPAUSE
No, Paul and Silas did NOT do anything I just described above. They started praying and singing! What??? How could they possibly have that attitude? Aren’t they upset about what happened? They’ve just been severely mistreated and all they do is start singing and praying.
When I think of this story, I think about how often I find myself reacting to situations instead of responding as I should. When we react to something, we tend to not think rationally and we go off on some tangent and often say things we don’t mean. However, when we respond, we’re often thinking through the situation, taking a few moments to gather our thoughts and figure out the best way to handle what is going on.
I would encourage all of us to work on responding instead of reacting. It’s so easy to just react, but we should focus more to respond with a loving heart and gestures that minister to others around us. It was a pivotal moment for Paul and Silas in what they did after they were beaten. Look what God did!!! And, look what God could and can do when we let Him use us in situations to respond instead of react.
Responding almost always seems to land us in a better outcome.
https://www.christianityboard.com/threads/react-or-respond.70113/
“React Or Respond?
Acts 16:23-25 NIV
After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
This passage came up in my devotional morning time the other day. Acts is one of my most favorite books of the Bible as we read about the start of the early church and how passionate people were and how fast the church grew.
This specific story of Paul and Silas in prison always amazes me. The part I am most amazed by is right after verse 24. They’ve been thrown into prison and beaten severely.
PAUSE
If I were in their shoes, I know that I would be frustrated about my situation and probably looking at others, giving them a look of “Can you believe what they just did to us?” Then once in the cell, I know for sure I’d be going through the whole scenario in my head and thinking “What did we do wrong? How could we have avoided that? Can you believe they would do such a thing to us? I think we should file a report and complain to someone about how we were treated.”
UNPAUSE
No, Paul and Silas did NOT do anything I just described above. They started praying and singing! What??? How could they possibly have that attitude? Aren’t they upset about what happened? They’ve just been severely mistreated and all they do is start singing and praying.
When I think of this story, I think about how often I find myself reacting to situations instead of responding as I should. When we react to something, we tend to not think rationally and we go off on some tangent and often say things we don’t mean. However, when we respond, we’re often thinking through the situation, taking a few moments to gather our thoughts and figure out the best way to handle what is going on.
I would encourage all of us to work on responding instead of reacting. It’s so easy to just react, but we should focus more to respond with a loving heart and gestures that minister to others around us. It was a pivotal moment for Paul and Silas in what they did after they were beaten. Look what God did!!! And, look what God could and can do when we let Him use us in situations to respond instead of react.
Responding almost always seems to land us in a better outcome.
