In this day and age, we joke about our smart phones, our smart watches or our smart TV’s listening in on our conversations. You talk with your bestie about needing some new shoes and then, BAM, what do ya know?? You scroll the web, Facebook or your email and there it is, the ad for the new shoes you need. Coincidence? Conspiracy?? Who knows!

What I DO know is that there ARE those who are listening.

No, I don’t mean folks spying on you through your phone. I mean the folks living right next to you, day in and day out. Your coworkers, your friends, your family, the guy at the Dollar General that rings up the last-minute frozen pizza cause you’re too tired to cook.

So what do they hear?

A few weeks ago, we got some not so great news. It was hard to not to be angry, petty and even a little selfish about it. I was quick to complain to anyone who would listen.

But folks, let me tell you. God showed me real quick like and in a hurry that I was NOT handling this situation as a child of His should. He showed me that I cannot claim to have faith and “lose it” at the slightest sign of trouble. What kind of witness is that?

I came across this verse as God was speaking to me. Acts 16:25 “but at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening.”

THE PRISONERS WERE LISTENING!

If you back up a few verses, you will see that Paul and Silas had been thrown in jail for casting a spirit out of a young girl. They were unjustly punished, but STILL prayed and sang hymns to God. In the midst of this horrible situation, they praised God, and OTHERS LISTENED.

My heart was convicted. Good or bad, my God has got this. I believe this. So now I need to start acting like I believe it instead of just saying it.

People are always listening. Good or bad, they WILL hear and see how you react to each situation we go through.

Sometimes God may put you in that situation just to minister or witness to those who happen to be around you. The bible doesn’t say, but who knows how many of those prisoners changed all because two Godly men, instead of complaining and bemoaning their situation, chose to pray and sing to God in the middle of it all.

“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God’” Psalms 31:14