It's 3 AM, and I just woke up. Tears are in my eyes. God often wakes me up at 3 AM. It seems God is never sleepy, and 3 AM is His preferred time to talk to me. Why the tears? I'm singing “Agnes Dei” in my mind. I put in my earphones, open YouTube on my iPad, and find the “Agnes Dei” video by Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant: (https://youtu.be/0oiS4fYuIJk?si=47n5N140DOzk2sAb).

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The tears, like the heavenly notes, keep streaming. It's SO beautiful! In the video I see the faces of the many performers. They're entranced. They are playing as if God himself is directing. I also see the audience. They're captivated by the beauty of this song. Hands are raised; eyes are closed. They're worshiping. I imagine tears are streaming. God is SO beautiful! What can evoke such a visceral experience at 3 AM? How did I get here? Well, in a way, not too unlike the jailer in today's story.

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About 2,000 years ago, the Apostle Paul and his companion Silas made a port of call in Phillipi (Acts 16:11). While there, they were wrongly arrested and jailed. Not only were they jailed, but they were severely beaten with rods. As if that wasn't enough, they were shackled in stocks in the most secure part of the jail. Enter the jailer. He was instructed, under pain of death, to watch Paul and Silas carefully. And that's what he did. But he witnessed something he wasn't expecting: despite their brutal experience, Paul and Silas were openly praying and singing praises to God.  

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And then, about midnight, a violent earthquake shook the jail with such force; the cell doors fell from their hinges, the stocks came unshackled, and the lights were put out. The jailer was about to fall on his sword, believing his charges had escaped in the darkness, but Paul shouted, “Don't harm yourself! We are all here!” (Acts 16:28)

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Today's verses in Acts 16 relate what happened next. Though the jailer experienced a literal earthquake, he experienced a figurative earthquake, as well.

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I can relate to the jailer. He was given a job he was fully trained to accomplish. With Paul and Silas in the inner jail, their feet in stocks, no less, there was no way he could fail his assignment. But then, he encountered a force beyond his wildest comprehension. God literally and figuratively shook his world. He shook this jailer to his knees, so he now saw the world with fresh eyes. He wasn't sure what he saw, but he knew he wanted it – no, he needed it – so he immediately went seeking it.

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There was a time in my life when I didn't wake up at 3 AM. There was a time God didn't talk to me, at least that I could hear. There was a time I didn't tear up when listening to a song as beautiful as “Agnes Dei.” But then a figurative earthquake shook my life. I shared that story in mid-November, so I won't repeat it today. Suffice to say that, ever since, I haven't been the same. I strive to see the beauty of our Lord in everything. So here I am at 3 AM, listening to “Agnes Dei,” with tears in my eyes. Why? Because like “Agnes Dei,” God is SO beautiful!

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The jailer's story has a happy ending. The jailer and his family not only were spared pain of death but were baptized into the community of believers and filled with joy. What a wonderful ending. I have tears in my eyes. God is SO beautiful!

Can you identify with the jailer in this story? Has God shaken you to your knees?

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It's a few minutes after three, and the “Agnes Day” video has just ended. The YouTube algorithm has suggested that I next listen to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Christmas Cannon: (https://youtu.be/4cP26ndrmtg?si=SQfIi2zQNbsXBacg).

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I tear up again. Those children's voices...in His image...God is SO beautiful! I scroll the comments and find one by @Quilter–RN that connects with me; “Everyday I thank God for something simple or large. I can't imagine a world without God.”  Amen @Quilter-RN, neither can I.

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What about God would put a tear in your eye at 3 AM?

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I earnestly pray God intimately reveals His beauty to you. Don't be discouraged if you can't see it quite yet. Just follow the example set by Paul and Silas – in all circumstances, pray and sing praises to God. Seek Him. An earthquake won't be far behind.

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Psalm 27:4: “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”  

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Amen, come Lord Jesus.