Chain Breaker

In I Corinthians 14:24-25, Paul writes:

If an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare.  So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

What a bizarre picture!  Doesn’t this look like a scene out of a horror movie?  However, as I reflected on this, I was reminded of another passage of scripture which may be helpful in looking at this setting differently.

Remember when Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison (Acts 16:16-36)?  Luke tells us that in the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were praising God and all the other prisoners were listening to them.  While it is true they had a captive audience, I suspect that the other people were seriously contemplating this bizarre behavior.

While Paul and Silas worshipped God, there was an earthquake that was so strong that it not only shook the prison, but the prison doors flew open and all the chains of the prisoners fell off.  Was this a coincidence or was God making His Presence known?

I am convinced that when we worship and praise God even in our most difficult circumstances, God will not only reveal Himself to us, but other peoples’ world will be rocked and they will be unshackled from their chains.  Just ask the prisoners or the jailer that was with Paul and Silas.  I bet they would say, “God really is among you!”