Dear Redeeming Grace,

In his message last Sunday, Steve brought out the point that our circumstances don't always reflect the fruitfulness of the mission. Paul and Silas found themselves bound in the lower level of a prison, with only a handful of converts and the apparent end of their preaching and the advancement of the gospel message. If they looked only to those circumstances, surely they would have grown discouraged.

And isn't that true of us as well? We may at times look at the circumstances we are in and find ourselves discouraged. We can wonder why God has allowed certain trials or not given a desired outcome. We may look around and not see the kind of fruit we'd hoped for.

But our passage last week reminds us that God does insert himself according to his perfect time and purpose. And we saw Paul and Silas continuing to faithfully follow the Lord regardless of their circumstance. Rather than give in to discouragement, they prayed and sang. How could this be except that their eyes were on the perfect savior, not the prison chains.

When you feel fruitless or discouraged because of your circumstances, remember the Lord has perfect plans. Lift your eyes to him again. Pray and sing while you wait on him to move in his good timing.