God Will Appear

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him.”

Daniel 3:28

How would you have felt if you were Peter? King Herod had begun a persecution of the church in Jerusalem, highlighting it with the murder of the apostle James, the brother of John. When he saw that this pleased the Jewish leaders, he seized Peter also and put him in jail. If you had been Peter, wouldn’t you have thought that Herod planned to murder you as well? How alone would you have felt?

The church prayed diligently that night for Peter. He was chained to two Roman soldiers, and there were guards at the doors of the jail. Talk about lonely—bound in chains through the night, with the prospect of meeting a sword in the morning! But suddenly the church’s prayers were answered as an angel appeared to Peter and set him free. When Peter realized that God had appeared, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord . . . has delivered me” (Acts 12:11). You might never find yourself chained and condemned to die for Jesus. (Or you might.) But whatever your predicament, if you will wait, God will come to you with peace, protection, or a promise.

It is not a question of whether God will appear when you are in trouble, but how.

When Jesus is present, all is well, and nothing seems difficult.

THOMAS À KEMPIS