Acts 16:22-25
"The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them."
In our text, Paul and Silas were beaten, bruised and bloodied for their beliefs. How did they react in the trial? They started singing and praising God. You'll never know how far you are in the maturation process as a Christian until you get beaten up. Trials do not make us or break us, they simply reveal what is going on inside us. So, being "beaten up" brings an opportunity to reveal what the Lord has accomplished in our lives - it reveals where we are at.
It has been said that Christians are like tea bags, meaning....we'll never know what flavor we are until we are placed in hot water. It's the unexpected trial that will reveal our flavor. But, weather we are beaten up or beaten down by the trials of life, we can rejoice because Satan has been beaten back by the back of Jesus. He bore our punishment, our griefs and our sorrows.(Isaiah 53:4-6)
The Truth
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5-6)
