The Art Of Reframing—worship.

The Art Of Reframing—Worship.

Acts 16:25TPT

The art of reframing, lets you see God’s view on any given particular subject and situation.

John Milton once said—the mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a heaven out of hell, a hell of heaven.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are in stocks in a philippian dungeon. This is not a five star jail. It's a hell hole. In-fact, Landing in an ancient middle eastern prison isn't much better than landing in a pit with a lion on a snowy day.

A few hours earlier, Paul had cast a demon out of a fortune teller, and her master didn't like it because, his fortune telling slave was a cash cow.

So Paul and Silas were arrested.

A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison.

The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn't escape. So he took no chances, but put them in the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

Acts 16:25TPT Paul and Silas, undaunted, prayed in the middle of the night and sang songs of praise to God, while all the other prisoners listened to their worship.

Their worship moved prisoners—sinners and saved alike.

Acts 16:25TM Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears.

If I’m Paul and Silas, I am physically, emotionally, and spiritually spent. I am drained to the last drop. I've got nothing left to give.

My back is still bleeding from the beating, and I am in maximum security cell-block. If I'm Paul and Silas, I'm not just ticked off at the mob. I'm slightly hurt that God didn't keep me out of this mess. After all, they were preaching the gospel.

Circumstances can't get much worse than this. And that is why Paul and Silas's reaction is so remarkable. If I had been in their place, the verse might read, “Around midnight, Howard was complaining about his circumstances.”

But not Paul and Silas, the Bible says around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

Hebrews 13:15AMP Through Him, therefore, let us at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.

This I know, Your praise and worship to God, is a direct reflection to your treatment of mankind.

Hebrews 13:15TPT So we no longer offer up a steady stream of blood sacrifices, but through Jesus, we will offer up to God a steady stream of praise sacrifices—these are “the lambs” we offer from our lips that celebrate his name!

I like that, your praise and worship are the lambs we offer from the fruit of our lips.

“Listen, ‘it doesn’t matter what our situation is, Jesus is always worthy to speak, praise and worship His name!” P.H

Let me share something I've learned from some of my personal struggles:

When I get into a spiritual or emotional slump, it's usually because I'm zoomed in on a problem. I'm fixating on something I don't like about myself or someone else, or my circumstances. And 9 times out of 10, the solution is zooming out so I can get some perspective. P.H

So how do we zoom out? The one-word answer is—worship.

Here's a word from the Lord, “Don't let what's wrong with you, keep you from worshiping what's right with God.”

Paul and Silas learned to reframe their problems. They stopped focusing on what's wrong with their circumstances, and started focusing on what's right with God.

I think there are basically two types of people in the world. Complainers and worshipers.

Complainers will always find something to complain about; Worshipers will always find something to praise God about.

They simply have different default settings

What is your default setting?

Colossians 3:2TPT Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.

The King James say’s, set your mind…Fix your mind…

When you live without worship, your world becomes as small as a peep hole. Make your world big by reframing it through worship.

Paul wrote in, Romans 12:1TPT Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.

Another thought, the circumstances you complain about become chains that in-prison you. And worship is the way out. Worship reframes our problems and refocus’ our lives.