We are in a series on miracles and when we think about miracles in the Bible, we tend to think about the miracles of Jesus. Jesus turned water to wine. He calmed storms and walked on water. He healed the sick and raised the dead. Jesus performed miracles that not only showed us the power of God at work in His life, but miracles that showed us that He was God because no one but God could do what Jesus did. But God did miracles in the Old Testament too and the first miracle recorded was a miracle of protection.
In Genesis 6, God gets angry at the wickedness of the people and decides to flood the earth. God is going to wipe everything out and start over again, but there was one man who found favor with God and his name was Noah. You know the story, Noah built an ark and two of every bird and animal, male and female, went into the ark with him and his family, and they were all saved. So where’s the miracle? Noah is the one who obeyed God and built the ark, but if you think about the size of this thing, we could say it was a miracle he got it done. But that’s not the miracle. The miracle was that God brought the animals to Noah. We never hear about Noah going out into the world to gather the animals, it is God who brought them to Noah. The first miracle God did was a miracle of protection.
From this story we learn an important truth about miracles of protection: long before we face a problem - God has a plan. Long before we might need a miracle to protect us, God has a plan. Long before the rain started to fall, God had Noah build an ark and He began to gather the animals of the world. Long before Jonah was tossed into the sea, God sent a fish to swallow him. Long before the people of Israel were trapped at the Red Sea, God was gathering up a great wind to blow back the water and create a path.
Long before we face a problem or painful situation, God has a plan. If you are facing a problem and are asking God to protect you and provide a way out for you, know that God has a plan. It might not be your plan, but God has a plan.
One man who experienced several miracles of protection was Paul. Paul was protected during storms at sea. He was kept safe when he was shipwrecked, and several times God’s power was seen when Paul was thrown into prison. We read about one of these in Acts 16.
The magistrates ordered [Paul and Silas] to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. Acts 16:22b-24
It’s important to see that Paul is doing exactly what God has asked him to do when he is thrown into prison. He is preaching the gospel. He is calling people to place their faith and trust in Jesus and he is telling people that they can experience the power of God’s kingdom. Paul is being faithful and yet being faithful did not protect Paul from being stripped, beaten and thrown into prison.
God never promised to keep us from every bad thing that can happen in life. God has not promised to keep us from all harm and to protect us from every peril and pain we might experience. In fact, Jesus specifically said that as long as we are in this world we will experience pain and problems, but He also said we won’t be facing them alone. The reason we can face problems with confidence and courage and even pray for a miracle is because God loves us and Christ has overcome the world. Paul said,
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
And who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-32, 35, 37-39
Paul knew that although problems would come and that painful situations were going to take place in his life, God was always going to be there with him and for him AND that the power of God’s love could do great things. Because of God’s love and power, Paul looked to God to provide miracles of protection and nothing has changed. Problems and painful situations will take place in our lives and God’s love will always be there for us AND God’s power can still do great things. Miracles of protection can take place just as they did for Paul.
So let’s go back and look at this miracle of protection God provides for Paul and Silas. Notice what Paul doesn’t do. When Paul is stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison, Paul doesn’t turn his back on God. Paul has to feel disappointed that God didn’t protect him from these problems and pain, but Paul doesn’t give up on God. Just because things didn’t go as planned, Paul didn’t stop praying, he didn’t stop worshiping God, and he didn’t turn his back on the church, his small group, and listening to KLove.
When things don’t go the way we want them to and we struggle through painful times and difficult situations, it is easy to feel disappointed by God and think about turning away. God didn’t provide for me. God didn’t help me God didn’t keep these bad things from happening so obviously God doesn’t care for me or love me. It’s easy to think about turning away from God during difficult times, but look at what Paul and Silas do. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25
They are praying and worshiping God, not because God has kept them from pain and problems, or provided them a way out, but because they believe God is with them and worthy to be praised. I heard someone say that Paul and Silas aren't giving an offering of praise here, they aren’t praising God for what He has done, but they are giving a sacrifice of praise. They don’t know if God will do anything to help them but they love God, trust God and are placing their hope in what God will do next.
And what God does next is to provide a miracle of protection.
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners 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 baptized. 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 16:26-34
What we see here is that long before we face a problem - God has a plan. Before the persecution Paul faced, God had a plan. Before being sent to prison, God had a plan, and God’s plan, God’s miracle of protection, wasn’t just for Paul and Silas but the jailer and his family as well.
The earthquake came and broke the chains of Paul and Silas so they were set free, but the miracle of protection was just beginning. When the prison doors opened, the jailer assumed everyone escaped and he would be held responsible and killed, so he was ready to take his own life, but God protected him by having Paul tell him not to harm himself because they are all there and they would stay there until morning. Through the night, the jailer fed and cared for Paul and Silas, and Paul and Silas shared their faith and baptize the jailer and his family. Before there was a problem, God had a plan.
Most of us will never face a situation like Paul and Silas, but we will experience pain and problems. Maybe right now you are feeling stripped of hope, or beaten down by the words and actions of others. Maybe you are feeling like a prisoner in your current circumstances, or chained to a life you didn’t want. Maybe you have been praying for a miracle of protection that hasn’t come and you are ready to give up. If that is where you are, think of Paul and Silas just before midnight.
They are in prison and there is no sign of rescue. It’s the middle of the night and no one has come to help them. There are no rumors of a rescue. They are feeling the pain of their wounds and the limitations of their chains, and yet look at what they did. They prayed. They sang songs of praise. They worshiped God not knowing if any miracle would come. We have to worship God in the midst of our pain and problems, not knowing if a miracle of protection or healing or deliverance will come, but believing and trusting that God has a plan and that God has the power to do great things.
An earthquake that breaks chains and opens prison doors is a pretty obvious miracle of protection, and while that might be the kind of miracle we are looking for and praying for, the miracles God will perform to protect us may not be as visible. Even for Paul, some of the miracles of protection came in quiet ways. Earlier in Acts 16 it says that Paul and Silas wanted to go to Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus would not let them. We don’t know why they were kept from that region, but maybe that was a miracle of protection. Maybe there was a danger worse than the persecution and prison in Bithynia so God sent them to Philippi. Sometimes miracles of protection come when we don’t get what we want and our plans change. And sometimes the miracles of protection come when we get exactly what we want, but then God shows us a better way.
When I started college I thought it was an opportunity to reinvent myself. I was always the quiet, church kid and I decided I wanted to live more on the wild side so I asked God to put me on a party floor. Yes, that was my prayer, and God gave me exactly what I wanted. An all male dorm and an all freshman floor. It was pretty wild and the opportunities to reinvent myself and live differently were all around me. God gave me what I wanted.
The miracle of protection came when God also put me into Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. God literally guided me to this group and said, Andy, I have given you what you said you want and I am giving you what I know you want. The choice is now yours. If it had not been for IVCF and the support of God’s people working in my life during those months, I have no idea where I would have ended up, but I doubt it would have been here. In fact, if it were not for that miracle of protection and God’s direction, the chances are good that I would have ruined my life years ago, or spent my life chasing after all the wrong things.
Miracles of protection can come in the form of God’s guiding hand giving us what we want but showing us a better way. They can come when God doesn’t give us what we want and leads us in new directions. And they can come from dramatic events that keep us safe, or open new doors of opportunity. Miracles of protection can also come from simply knowing that no matter what we are going through, we can make it through because God is with us.
Maybe the miracle of protection God wants to do in our life is to just give us the strength to make it through the problems, trusting in Him. Remember, God never promised to keep us from all pain and problems, but He has promised to be with us through them. There is nothing that can keep us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing! Knowing that God is with us through the pain and problems, and that God will never forsake us in those situations, might be the only miracle of protection we need. It might be going through those difficult times that will draw us closer to God and help others come to know the saving power of Jesus Christ. Remember, long before those problems came, God had a plan, and God’s plan might just be to see us through to the end.
No matter what you are going through today, God has a plan. It might not be your plan, and the protection might not come the way you want it to, but pray and sing and trust God for a miracle. Pray for a miracle but always remember that the miracle God provides might just be feeling God’s presence and power and love with you in the darkness.
Next Steps
When Pigs Fly - Miracles of Protection
What can we learn from these miracles of protection found in the Old Testament
● Genesis 6:9-7:10 ~ Noah
● Exodus 14:10-31 ~ Parting the Red Sea
● 2 Kings 6:8-23 ~ God’s unseen army
● Jonah 1 ~ Jonah and the great fish
What bigger plan did God have in each of these situations?
Read Acts 16:16-36
Why do you think God did not protect Paul and Silas from persecution and prison?
● What does this tell us about the problems we might face?
● What did Jesus say about problems? John 16:33
● How do Paul and Silas handle the disappointment that God did not keep them out of prison?
What might be the difference between an offering of praise and a sacrifice of praise?
How did God’s miracle protect both Paul and Silas as well as the jailer and his family?
Where do you need a miracle of protection in your life?
● In what ways do you feel stripped of hope, beaten down by life, and chained up by circumstances beyond your control?
● What would it look like for you to offer God a sacrifice of praise?
● How can Romans 8 give you courage & confidence?
1 Thessalonians 5:17. Pray continually. It is always ok to pray for a miracle of deliverance, healing, and protection. Keep Praying!
