God With Us

[Nebuchadnezzar said,] “Blessed be the God . . . who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him.”

Daniel 3:28

How would you have felt if you had been Peter in the New Testament? King Herod began 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?

The church prayed diligently that night for Peter, who was chained to two Roman soldiers and under the guard of men stationed at the doors of the jail. He was 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 sent help, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord . . . has delivered me” (Acts 12:11). You may not find yourself chained and condemned to die for Jesus. But whatever your predicament, if you will wait, God will make His presence known.

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

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

THOMAS À KEMPIS