Acts 16:25-34 “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.”

Paul and Silas found themselves in a dark place at a dark hour with the world closing in around them so they needed to make a choice. They can fall prey to the despair of the dark place or they can pray, sing and worship God, putting their trust in Him.

They chose the gold over the hole and the result was God showed up and the whole prison community experienced freedom because they chose to trust God!

Friends, in Australia we are witnesses to the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history.
Lives have been snatched away, families have been decimated, and hope has been replaced by ashes. The nation watches as people’s lives have the potential to slip into a dark hole of despair. We sit helplessly, giving what we can but it seems so little, so we pray and are reminded of our finiteness and the fragility of human life.

Like Paul and Silas we find ourselves in a dark place that will either make us stronger or commit us to a prison cell within. Can I suggest a course of action? When there is no where to go and no human can get you out of this place- trust God.

Dare to trust God in your circumstances. Sing and pray and offer praise to God. Lift your heart and spirit like Paul and Silas did. There is a whole community that needs to experience God’s freedom and your ability to sing, pray and praise God in the midst of tragedy could be the catalyst to others experiencing freedom. It only takes one or two people to trust God and everything can change in a moment from fear to freedom.

We can’t begin to imagine what the hurting people in Victoria are going through, but our hearts go out to them. Our love and prayers can be with them and we can trust God to lead them out of this dark place towards a place of healing.

We are a nation in mourning but we look to God for a new day.
Ps Kev