The Tribune

By Rev Angela C Bosfield Palacious

In times like these we have to work hard to resurrect hope for those who are feeling hopeless and helpless. For some of our people the darkness is so deep that they have begun to despair that they may never again see light.

This is fertile ground for ministry. The time is ripe for any and all of the following: love, kindness, forgiveness, repentance, transformation, and prayerful action. This is when suffering can usher in salvation, and dedicated discipleship can produce passionate worship, witness and work for the Lord.

Our God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow is in ultimate control, and we have the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Consider the experience and response of Paul and Silas in Acts 16: 22-34. Hope is contagious. Our ability to praise God, no matter what, is the response that generates change. In spite of a severe flogging and their feet put in stocks (wooden boards with holes for the ankles) Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns.

When we praise and thank God we are given strength to persevere and endure, to overcome some of our challenges, and to stand up for justice and truth. When we praise and thank God for what we do have, we delight God’s heart.

There is a violent earthquake that occurs next in the story, loosening all of the prisoners’ chains. The jailor is about to commit suicide thinking that they had escaped: “But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptised. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household (Acts 16: 28-34).

When we focus on the Word of God, we are inspired to try great things for God, and others will come to faith, like the jailor and his household, because of our hope and faith. With prayerful action executed with enthusiasm, we will see results. Miracles do still happen.

We in the church are called to be leaders, empowered to lead the way by setting an example, by resurrecting a spirit of hope based on Christ’s resurrection. We can face our giants, our Goliaths, with the stones of: hope, joy, faith, trust, love and peace. Because Jesus overcame death on the cross and now lives, we can face tomorrow with courage. When God is with us, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have access to divine strength, wisdom and power.

In this time of great tragedy we mourn and grieve but we also try to keep hope alive. We will rise from these ashes. We must persevere, after we regroup.

Be good to yourselves and encourage others. Find whatever joy you can in each day, and pray without ceasing: “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:9-14 NIV).

• Rev Angela Palacious, a motivational speaker and author of several devotional books, is an Anglican priest. She may be contacted at 393-9000 or by e-mail at angelapalacious@gmail.com.