Transitions: Processing the Dark Nights

Last week, we learned from an incident in King David’s life about how we can avoid the bad transitions that may come to us when we choose to sin against God and others. When David finally took responsibility for his mistakes, God forgave him. But, David had to process the negative repercussions of his bad decisions for the rest of his life.

This week, we’ll cover a more positive transition that occurred during a night in jail for the apostle Paul and his coworker Silas. We’ll learn that prayer and songs of praise can help us process and even make sense of the dark nights we must endure.

How to Use This Guide 

Thank you for taking the time to do this Bible study. When we dig deeper into God’s word, He promises to bless us. We follow in the footsteps of King David, who wrote in Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

This guide will provide a weekly framework for spiritual conversations with friends or family. We encourage you to reach out to a friend or two, pick a time to get together each week, and work through this guide together. This Bible study can also be a good tool for families, perhaps coordinated with mealtimes.

What does the Bible say?

Read Acts 16.

Chapter 16 details what happened in a town Paul visited on his second missionary journey. As they embarked upon this trip, it was Paul’s idea to go back and visit the people in the cities where he and his coworker Barnabas had preached the word of the Lord and “see how they are doing” (Acts 15:36). After a disagreement with Barnabas over whether or not Barnabas’ cousin Mark should join them, the two parted company. Paul then chose Silas, a prophet who was known for the way he encouraged and strengthened the believers (Acts 15:32) and asked him to come along. 

Who did Paul and Silas pick up along the way in Lystra (see Acts 16:1-3)? As this trio traveled, they established the authority of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. What was the result of their work, according to verse 5?

Now that Paul had revisited the places where he had gone on his first missionary journey, he sought the Lord’s will for where to go next. How does God lead Paul to his next destination in Acts 16:6-10? Note that the pronoun changes from “they” to “we” in verse 10. This means that the author of Acts, Luke, has joined the party in Troas and can now write in the first person plural. 

Once the group had their marching orders, where did they go? Refer back to verse 9 to note the vision that drove them there. How do you think the words of the Macedonia man in the vision stirred up compassion and drive in Paul and his companions? 

We would all like to have such clear direction from the Lord as to our next steps. Even though they had received a vision, Paul and his cohort still had to interpret it. Sometimes God can direct us in our dreams today. When God speaks to us, there can be no mistaking it. He knows how to make His presence known. We often worry that we are not very adept at hearing from God. But, this view can be misleading, because it forgets that God is an expert in communicating to each one of his children in just the right way that makes sense for the relationship. Even so, we can rely upon some guidelines to help us recognize God’s voice. We can trust that God will never say anything out of character. This means that if we think God is telling us to do something that would hurt another person or hurt ourselves, we can be sure this is not the voice of God. This is because God is love. Plus, Christians today enjoy the advantage of having God’s word to read and study. God will never tell us to do or say something that is not in accordance with the Holy Scriptures. So, the best way to discern God’s will is to get to know Him through reading and studying the Bible as you are doing now, and through prayer. God may also provide us with trusted Christian friends with whom we can talk about what we think we are hearing from God. As we see with the apostle Paul, it is not wrong to continue going in the same direction as when we last heard from God. But, we should also be sensitive and then obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit who might lead us to change our plans.

When Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke arrived in Philippi, where did they go, according to Acts 16:13? Typically, on the Sabbath, Paul would go to the local synagogue in a new city. That he went outside the city gate to the river to find a place of prayer tells us that there were not enough Jewish men in the town to organize a synagogue. This is confirmed by the details Luke gives us about who they met there. Who did the four men find gathering together to pray in Acts 16:13? One of the women was named Lydia. What do you find out about Lydia in verses 14-15? 

In Acts 16:16, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke are again going to the place of prayer. Who followed them? What was she doing and what was she saying about the men in verse 16-17? Do you think her words in verse 17 were true? Why do you think Paul was annoyed? What were her owners getting out of her activities, according to verse 19? Is it possible that Paul saved the slave girl from her owners when he commanded the spirit to come out of her? Perhaps she joined the other women in prayer at the riverside now that she was of no use to her masters.

What did the slave girl’s owners do to Paul next and what were their accusations (Acts 16:19-20)? Is there any evidence that Paul and Silas were breaking the law? Who joined in the attack in Acts 16:22? How were Paul and Silas treated by the magistrates in Acts 16:22-23? How were they treated by the jailer in Acts 16:23-24?

About midnight, according to Acts 16:25, what were Paul and Silas doing? What were the other prisoners in the jail doing? What did God do next in Acts 16:26? How did the jailer respond and how did Paul show compassion on him (Acts 16:27-28)? 

Sometimes we must go through dark times so that others can come to know God. In other words, our dark times may not be completely for our sake, but also for another’s sake. Has this ever happened to you? Some go through difficult times and the way they handle things inspires another person to ask about God. They want to know how we can persevere when our lives are challenging. In this story, God uses an earthquake to set prisoners free. He shook the foundations of this prison where both innocent and presumably guilty people were housed. As a result of the earthquake, prison doors flew open and the chains that bound those inside were unfastened. Our dark times have a purpose in God’s plan and our praise and prayer unlocks the shackles that bind our hearts and keep us from recognizing His work and ways. 

The jailer recognized something different about Paul and Silas. What do you think it was? What did he want to know in Acts 16:30? What was Paul and Silas’ reply in Acts 16:31? How did the jailer’s life and those of his household change, according to Acts 16:32-34? 

What happened at daylight (Acts 16:35)? Even though Paul and Silas were free to go, Paul then chose to make a defense. Why do you think he waited until the worst was over to do this? Philippi was a Roman colony and proud to be so. Paul’s words in Acts 16:37 show that the magistrates had broken their own law. How were these leaders affected by Paul’s accusation and what did they do in Acts 16:38-39? Do you suppose that Paul wanted to see if the Lord would open their hearts to respond to the Gospel message as He did Lydia’s, the jailor’s and all of their households? Alas, these leaders in the town did not respond to witnessing the power and love of God in Paul and Silas and all the others who had turned to follow the Lord. Where did Paul and Silas go on their way out of town and what did they do for the last time before they left? 

By acting honestly and honorably, Paul and his cohort left Philippi with their reputations restored. But, probably more important to Paul was that the Christ they followed was lifted up for all to see and no one could say a negative thing about Him. Paul’s care to expose the corrupt power that the magistrates wielded and set things right about how they were mistreated had a long-term effect on the growth of Christianity in Philippi. The group of believers in this Macedonian city grew into a healthy and vibrant Christ-following community, even in the midst of a town largely made up of people who did not know about Jesus. We know this because we have a letter called Philippians that Paul wrote later in his life. Read this short letter that Paul wrote from jail shortly before he was martyred by the Emperor Nero in Rome. The apostle Paul spent a lot of his time in ministry in jail. But, he did not seem to think this to be a hindrance for the spreading of the gospel (see Philippians 1:12-2:18). Many scholars think that the beautiful words about Jesus in Philippians 2:9-11 are an example of an early hymn. Perhaps Paul and Silas wrote it in the midnight hour while in jail in Philippi. 

Each one of us will likely experience dark times where we feel the walls close in around us. Our faith in God can get us through. We can follow the example of Paul and Silas who prayed and sang praises to God. Doing so will have a great impact on our own wellbeing and also for the ones who are watching how we go through hard times. What is your song in the night?

Here is one example:

Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day (*night)  long

‍Prayer: Lord, we worship You for giving us the peace that passes all understanding, even in our darkest hour. As we pray and praise you we can know You are near and trust You to bring us back into the light again. Thank You. Amen.