Acts 16:23-24
“And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.”
Paul and Silas found themselves in a very bad situation. They obeyed God and preached the Gospel to the people of Philippi. While preaching, a young lady who was used by her masters to be a soothsayer, heard them preach and got saved. When her masters saw that their source of income had dried up, they got upset with Paul and Silas, and turned the city against them so that they were thrown into prison.
Paul and Silas could have let this bad situation destroy their testimony. They were hated so much by these people that they were chained while in prison. The people of the city did not want Paul and Silas to influence anyone in the city. What they could not stop was the attitude and Spirit that guided these men. While in prison, instead of griping about their situation, they sang the praises of God. While they were singing, an earthquake hit and caused all the prison doors to open. When the guard saw what happened, he almost killed himself had not Paul told him they were all there. This guard and his household got saved because Paul and Silas decided to turn a bad situation into good.
Everybody will at one time or another find themselves in a bad situation. Sometimes these situations are caused by our own actions, and other times we have nothing to do with the cause. Whatever your situation, you can let the bad situation get worse by not doing the right thing, or you can choose to turn your bad situation into good.
If you are going to turn a bad situation into good, you must decide not to let the situation destroy your spirit. Paul and Silas were in prison singing when most people would have been griping. Let me ask you, do you find yourself griping about situations in life? Friend, good never comes from griping. Griping will not change your situation. The only thing griping will do is make your situation worse. Turning a bad situation into good starts with your perspective and spirit.
Moreover, turning a bad situation into good will only happen by keeping your integrity. When the prison doors were opened, Paul and Silas could have walked out, but they stayed because they had integrity. Your integrity is at stake in bad situations. Just because you are in a bad situation does not mean you should let it affect your integrity. Having integrity in bad situations may not help your situation, but it can certainly help you to make good come out of it.
Furthermore, turning a bad situation into good will only happen if you use it to help others. Paul and Silas sang the praises of God and witnessed to the guard. They could have become self-centered and allowed their situation to cause them to focus on themselves, but that wouldn’t have helped them. Your only hope of turning a bad situation into good is to help others. This is a great time to be a witness for Christ. This is a great time to help others going through the situation with you. Take your eyes off yourself and see those whom you can help.
Everyone will face bad situations in life. Don’t let the bad situations change you, but determine that you will change the situation into good. Everything God sends our way is for good, but that good will only happen if you make it good.