When You Need God, He is Here

I have been writing about the calling of the first disciples, and it is one thing to be called and another to be cared for, and God takes care of His children and His called ones. Point in case-Simon Peter went through many things, and the situations he was put in seemed unfair at times, but God came through every time. In Acts 12, we read about James being put to death by Herod Agrippa, and it pleased him so much that he went on a rampage, captured Peter, and put him in prison, with the intention of bringing Peter out for public trial. But God!!! If anyone needed God right now, it was Peter, and guess what happened? Look at Acts 12: ⁶ The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. ⁷ Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. ⁸ Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. ⁹ So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him. ¹¹ Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders^[c] had planned to do to me!”

Important elements in this whole situation were the following. 1. Peter was in prison. 2. The church prayed earnestly for him. 3. Peter trusted God and slept between two guards in chains. 4. A bright light was seen in the cell, and the angel in the light woke Peter and told him to get up. 5. When he got up, the chains fell off his wrists. 6. The angel told him to get dressed because he was leaving the jail. PRAISE GOD!! Let me stop here and have a praise moment. Oh yes, Jesus came through!!! 7. The angel said to get his coat and follow him. 8. They passed through the first and second guard posts, and when they came to the iron gate leading to the city, this opened for them by itself. 9. When he was out in the open and free, the angel left him, and Peter realized he had been freed by God.

Explain to me now. Which one of these numbered actions failed Peter? NONE. Which one of these miraculous actions was not true? NONE. Which part of this plan failed in getting Peter out? NONE! When our special forces got Venezuelan leader Maduro out without a hitch, it reminded me that God did that with Peter. Everything was perfectly executed and perfectly planned.

When you need God, like Peter needed God, and He sends an angel to escort you out of your problem, glorify Him and realize it may be so far beyond what you can comprehend, you don't know whether to trust it was God or just a vision. My friend, come to your senses as Peter did and take it for what it is. God came through AGAIN. I know this happened in the Bible, and we minimize it into a "Bible story", but it happened, and the same God who works in our lives today can and will do it again, without hesitation. God is active, and God is watching us, so realize God is here and working, and we just need to come to our senses and quit thinking that chance or karma is what is happening, and realize in our hearts that prayer works, and when God responds, His response is perfect and at times overwhelming and hard to believe. BUT BELIEVE IT!! He is here, and His love is moving Him to respond to the prisons we have gotten ourselves chained to, and He is all-powerful, and He is our first solution, so walk through the gate He has opened up for you and wake up to the fact that God still works miracles and give Him glory!!

My Spiritual rant is over now, so I will go. Pray for revival and awakening in the church, and may God be trusted, prayed to, and glorified when He moves, for He is moving.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren