Surprise from Above
We love the stories of men and women in impossible situations, near death, saved in the last hour. We should really love the Bible, then, because it’s full of those kinds of stories! We should really love the Lord, then, because He’s the One who saves.
Peter, I’m sure, loved the Lord greatly after an angel broke him out of prison. The event, recorded in Acts 12, seems surreal at first. An angel appeared suddenly in the prison cell with Peter, and Peter’s chains simply fall off. The angel struck Peter in the side and said, “Get up quickly!” There was no, “Hi, Peter, I’m an angel sent by the Lord to break you out of here…now here’s the plan…” Peter, thinking it was all a dream, quickly dressed and followed the angel past two sets of guards. The prison gates swung open without a touch. And Peter was free – just like that! It was only after he was standing a
lone in the street outside the prison that Peter realized, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting” (Acts 12:11).
Peter was surprised by the Lord’s salvation. He wasn’t even expecting it, or at least he never expected to be saved in such an exotic manner!
Peter wasn’t the only one surprised. A bunch of disciples had been praying together in the home of Mary, mother of John Mark. Peter found them there praying, but they wouldn’t believe it was really Peter standing outside their gate. They were surprised by the Lord’s salvation, even though they had been fervently praying for it.
Grace in Amazing Places
We might ask if we really should be surprised when the Lord acts in marvelous ways to save us from various afflictions. Do we demonstrate a lack of faith? We can see from this event in Peter’s life that, although we ask the Lord to intervene and help, we just don’t always know HOW God will work (or even IF He will choose to work) for us. God surprises us all the time because He works outside our little worldview. He does many things we wouldn’t expect. Who would have expected God to sacrifice His own Son to deliver us from the worst possible situation – eternal damnation? Someone coined the phrase: “Surprised by Grace.” We can’t help but be overwhelmed when God acts.
It is so comforting to realize that God works for His children! Like Peter, it’s often AFTER God has brought us through some grave situation that we can look back on the path we took and see His salvation at work. While we walk the road of affliction, we simply trust. After God delivers, we pour out our thanksgiving! Praise be to our awesome God who loves us and gave Himself for us.
Praise the Lord today,
Nathan
