Thus far in Acts 16, we have seen 2 recipients of the Lord’s deliverance—a God-worshipping business woman named Lydia in vv.6-15 and a demon-possessed slave girl in vv.16-18. These two were such different individuals with vastly contrasting life circumstances that Luke has created some anticipation for what might happen next in Philippi and especially, who is next on the Lord’s docket of salvation. While the spotlight will be heavily placed upon the 3rd recipient of the Lord’s deliverance, this final section of the chapter also concludes another significant theme of this chapter and of Acts.
Let’s consider for a few moments how God has used the messengers thus far in this chapter to bring about these instances of his deliverance. First, he hinders Paul and Silas’ travels plans to unreached regions twice without giving any reason that is recorded for us to know. Then, upon ministering in their Spirit-guided destination, they are harassed by a demon-possessed girl for many days as they tried to preach the gospel to those in Philippi. Even when that annoyance is dealt with through an exorcism, they are consequently dragged before the judges, beaten and put in jail. So just to review—the progress of the gospel came through the missionaries being redirected, harassed and even imprisoned. Keep in mind that all of those circumstances were the direct result of bringing the good news.
The question for us is: How are we willing to be used to advance the gospel among our unbelieving family and friends as servants of God? Perhaps even more relevant is: How easily are we able to submit to the Lord’s providence in order to maintain a faithful testimony that Christ is everything to us? Namely–How do we demonstrate that health is not our god, when we don’t look or feel the way we would like? How do we demonstrate in our attitude and decision making that finances are not our god, when it is a consistent struggle to try to have anything left over after paying all the bills? Lastly, how do we demonstrate that a desire to be served isn’t our god, when friends disappoint, when our spouse hurts us or when our children don’t seem to be changing at all? Do we understand that the Lord uses and ordains the difficulty in Christian’s lives to put the sufficiency and worth of Christ on display? So let us be faithful in our witness to Christ, not only in word, but also in our trust of Him.