The devil, our adversary, is on the move. He hates the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants to stop it. He does not want his captives set free from the chains of darkness. Our reading today shows that James the Apostle has been killed with the sword. Herod has moved on to the Apostle Peter with the same intention—to please the Jews. Peter is imprisoned and awaiting trial. Several things stood out to me in the reading.
First, the devil has outdone himself by imprisoning Peter, which exposes his weakness in the face of God’s power. Peter is in chains, guarded by four squads of soldiers, deep in the heart of the prison. Peter is a fisherman, not an escape artist! The devil has overplayed his hand, as he so often does in his rage and malice against God! Peter’s escape was effortless in the might of God’s power. He simply followed an angel out the door!
Second, it had to vex the devil that deep in the heart of the prison, on the eve of Peter’s likely execution, he was so sound asleep that Peter thought his escape was a dream. This reminds me—Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7, NLT)
Third, praying is what the church is doing, and Peter finds himself walking down the street in the middle of the night, free! The church is shocked when Peter knocks on their door. Likely, you and I, as believers, can look back on our lives and thank God for “awe” type moments when God intervened.
As believers, what a cause we have in Christ to rejoice! We are freed from the chains of darkness, we have a peace that passes all understanding, and our God is sovereign, faithful, good, and gracious—are not our lives a living and walking testimony of such, as much as Peter was, walking down the street freed from prison?
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Acts 11-12.