Unlikely People
READ
If you want to see Jesus' heart for strategic mission, look no further than Paul's visit to Philippi. In Acts 16, we see Jesus revealed as the Master Strategist who uses unlikely people and impossible circumstances to advance His kingdom.
Let’s take a moment to read Acts 16:11-40
Acts 16:13-15
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
Acts 16:25-33
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 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.
REFLECT
The journey to Philippi itself shows Jesus as the Divine Director. Paul had planned to minister in Asia, but "the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them" (Acts 16:7). Then came the vision of the Macedonian man begging, "Come over and help us!" Sometimes Jesus redirects our plans not because they're bad, but because He has something better in mind. Paul's detour to Europe would change the course of history.
In Philippi, Jesus reveals His heart for the marginalized through three unlikely converts. First, Lydia – a successful businesswoman, a religious seeker, a Gentile worshiper of God. Luke notes that "the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message" (Acts 16:14). This shows Jesus as the Heart Opener – He doesn't just provide opportunities to hear the gospel; He creates readiness to receive it.
Lydia's conversion demonstrates Jesus' appreciation for hospitality and generosity. Her first response wasn't to join a Bible study but to open her home: "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house" (Acts 16:15). Jesus had captured not just her heart but her resources. When Jesus transforms someone, generosity follows naturally.
The second convert was an unnamed slave girl with a spirit of divination, making money for her owners through fortune-telling. Jesus appears here as the Liberator of the Oppressed. Paul cast out the demon, freeing her from spiritual bondage and economic exploitation simultaneously. Jesus doesn't just save souls; He breaks chains – spiritual, emotional, and social.But this liberation came at a cost. The girl's owners were furious about their lost income, revealing how Jesus' work often threatens systems built on exploitation. They dragged Paul and Silas before the magistrates, showing us that following Jesus sometimes means confronting powerful interests that profit from others' pain.
This leads to the third reveal: Jesus as the Sustainer in Suffering. Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison. But instead of complaining or plotting escape, they were "praying and singing hymns to God" at midnight (Acts 16:25). Their worship in the darkness reveals the transforming presence of Jesus in impossible circumstances.
Then came the earthquake – but not the kind you'd expect. The prison doors flew open, but nobody escaped. This wasn't natural; this was supernatural. Jesus was orchestrating something bigger than a jailbreak. When the jailer prepared to kill himself, thinking all prisoners had fled, Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" This reveals Jesus as the Life Saver in every sense.The jailer's question – "What must I do to be saved?" – came from witnessing the supernatural peace of Paul and Silas. Their response was beautifully simple: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). No complicated theology, no lengthy requirements – just Jesus.
What followed was immediate transformation. The jailer washed their wounds (the same man who had fastened them in stocks), was baptized with his household, and brought them into his home for a meal. Jesus had turned their captor into their caregiver, their enemy into their brother. Notice the diversity of this first European church: Lydia (successful businesswoman), the slave girl (exploited and marginalized), and the jailer (working-class government employee). Jesus was building a community that crossed economic, social, and professional lines. His church was never meant to be homogeneous.Paul and Silas left Philippi the next day, but they left behind something precious – a church. Not a building or an organization, but a community of transformed lives. This reveals Jesus as the Church Planter who doesn't need perfect conditions or ideal circumstances. He just needs willing hearts and faithful witnesses.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
How has Jesus redirected your plans in ways that initially seemed disappointing but ultimately proved strategic?
What chains (spiritual, emotional, relational) might Jesus be calling you to help break in others' lives?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Jesus, thank You for being our Master Strategist who works all things together for good. Help us trust Your redirections and embrace Your assignments, even when they're difficult. Give us hearts like Paul and Silas to worship in the darkness and love our enemies. Use us to build Your diverse, beautiful church. Amen.