Acts 16:16-22

Boy, when you mess with people's dark source of income, they get all rattled.

This girl appeared to have a spirit of divination and made money for her masters by telling people's fortunes. She was their slave, and while she appeared to be speaking the truth about Paul, it seems her intention was not to help people but rather to distract attention away from the Gospel and possibly draw it to herself. Whatever the case, after enduring it for some time, Paul had had enough and commanded the spirit to leave the girl.

The girl was set free from her bondage, but now her masters were out of the income she had been bringing them. In some ways, this could be compared to a pimp who forces girls into prostitution to make money. He just lost one of his girls.

It is upsetting to think that there are those who enslave others for their own personal gain. How many women and children have been trapped through human trafficking for the financial benefit of their handlers? It is slavery all over again—just in a different form. With the tragedy that has unfolded in Venezuela, there have already been reports of children being rescued only to be targeted again by traffickers looking to profit from their vulnerability. It is heartbreaking. Please pray that these children are protected and reunited with their families.

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24:

““No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
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And consider the words of Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:10:

“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
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Such people need to be reminded that God sees everything. As Proverbs 13:11 (NASB) states:

“Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, But the one who gathers by labor increases it.”

Back to our story, Paul and Silas had stirred up a hornet's nest by interfering with these men's source of income, and they were furious. Just as we often see happening today, they stirred up the crowd by spreading lies about Paul and Silas. Before long, an angry mob had formed, leading to Paul and Silas being stripped, beaten with rods, and thrown into prison, as we will soon see.

Following Christ does not always lead us down the easiest road, but it always leads us down the right one. The enemy may stir up opposition when his kingdom is threatened, but God is never caught off guard. Time and again throughout Scripture, what looked like a setback became the very platform for God's greatest victories. Always remember this promise: what Satan means for evil, God always turns for good. No prison is too dark, no injustice too great, and no scheme of the enemy too powerful for the Lord to redeem for His glory.