God the Absolute Lord of Every Situation

    

One day John Wesley was returning to England from the failure of his missionary work in Georgia. The little ship on which he sailed encountered a terrible storm and Wesley was, as we might put it, “scared to death.” Wesley recorded in his journal that a storm broke the main sail and flooded the decks with water, making it seem "as if the great deep had already swallowed us up".

While the English passengers, including Wesley, panicked and screamed in fear of drowning, a group of 26 Moravian Christians (a Protestant group from Germany) onboard remained calm and continued singing hymns. Ashamed of his own paralyzing fear, Wesley asked a Moravian afterward if they were afraid. The leader replied, "I thank God, no," and added that they were not afraid to die. This incident caused Wesley to realize that he did not have the true, saving faith that he was attempting to preach.

Later he stated, "I went to America to convert the Indians, but, oh, who shall convert me? This experience, along with his failed mission, caused Wesley to enter a deep period of soul-searching upon returning to London. It directly led to his spiritual transformation on May 24, 1738, on Aldersgate Street, where he felt his heart "strangely warmed" and finally trusted in Christ.

In Acts 12:1-4 we read “King Herod ...had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover” (Acts 12:1-4).

The Festival of Unleavened Bread is a significant Jewish festival that follows Passover, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt. The timing of Peter's arrest during this festival is symbolic, as it echoes the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus, which also occurred during Passover. This was a time when Jerusalem was filled with Jewish pilgrims, making it a strategic moment for Herod to make a public statement by arresting Peter.

He had the intention of executing Peter and thus gaining greater popularity with the Jews. The Jews would not put anyone to death during the feast.  He had to wait until after the Passover before executing Peter. He also knew that on another occasion Peter had escaped from prison (Acts 5:18-20). Herod would see that this did not occur again. He therefore set over Peter, a special guard of sixteen soldiers, to guard in turns, four at a time.

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5). Peter’s situation looked grim indeed "but". It looked like an impossible dead end, like there was no way out "but!" This word "but!" is put here to point to us that there were two sides of the ledger. If Herod had seen both sides of the situation he would probably have laughed.

On the one hand there was the great Roman prison with its iron doors and locks. Inside this prison Peter was bound with chains to four special soldiers. These men would watch with extreme care, for the penalty of allowing a prisoner to escape meant death to a Roman soldier. On the other side of the ledger was a small group of Christians, gathered in a home, on their knees in prayer. What could this little group do to bring Peter from the confines of that great carefully guarded prison?

The Church was united in praying for Peter. It was their only available weapon. They understood the real meaning of 2 Corinthians 10:4, “the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”  We find the Church praying many times in the book of Acts (Acts 1:14; Acts 4:24; Acts 6:4; Acts 9:11). Acts 2:42 says the early disciples "devoted themselves to prayer."

In Isaiah 56:7 God declares “my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”. When Jesus drove the moneychangers out of the Temple he said, "my house will be called a house of prayer and you are making it a den of thieves" (Matt. 21:13). One primary purpose people gather in God’s house is to pray together. When Christians pray together they experience a unique bond through which God can and will do great things.

From the earliest days, the Church has always been at its best when its people have come together to pray. If we want to see the power that was in the early Church then we should look at prayer as an indispensable source of power as they did. If we are to be a powerful church we must be a prayerful church. Prayer is the most powerful force in this world because it gives us access to God's prevailing power.

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so.

 “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him (Acts 12:6-10).

Herod felt sure that because of his special effort to guard Peter, his prisoner would be there the next morning and he would be led out to execution. But Herod had not taken into account the prayers of the church and the power of Almighty God. He did not know that iron chains and doors meant nothing to the angel of God. When God intervenes then human precautions are all useless.

On the night before Herod was about to put him to death Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. Peter knew what Herod had done to James. He knew what Herod was likely to do to him and yet in the dark damp dungeon, with the prospect of the executioner’s axe falling upon his head in the morning, Peter was sleeping profoundly and calmly.  Not even the bright light from the angel could wake him up. The angel had to strike him on the side to wake him up.

Here we see the amazing “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding”, guard Peter’s hearts and minds” (Phil.4:7). Peter felt himself in the hands of an Almighty Father who would order everything for the best. He had seen his master Jesus sleeping calmly in the stern of the wave-rocked boat on the Galilean lake (Matt 8:23-27). With David, Peter could say, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety” (Ps.4:8).  

The discomfort of being chained to two soldiers and the surroundings of the prison would have kept many men awake. We read of criminals becoming hysterical when they are told that the time of their execution is near. But it was not so with Peter; he slept!  Such a quiet sleep, when near the hour of death by violence, shows that there is hope within; the calmness is an evidence of a clear conscience and implicit trust in God.

The strong chains locked to Peter’s hands and feet could not bind his soul. His faith could reach out beyond the confines of stone walls and iron doors up to the throne of Almighty God. His sight might be cut off by the darkness of the dismal dungeon, but his eye of faith could see far beyond the dark doors of the dungeon up to the beautiful gates of Heaven. His heart knew greater peace than that of King Herod, though Herod slept in the palace and Peter in the prison.

Peter was resting in the arms of everlasting Love and this knowledge bestowed upon him a sweet and calm repose at the moment of supreme danger. Such peaceful rest amidst one of the greatest trials is something marvellous and is not confined to apostolic times. The Lord’s servants have in every generation have proved the same wonderful peace. Isaiah30:15 says "in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength".

The chains fell off Peter’s wrists. The angel led the sleepy-eyed apostle through the vast fortress and past guards. Doors opened all by themselves. The guards did not wake up, even when the chains fell from Peter’s wrists. It was so amazing Peter thought it was all a dream and did not wake up and come to his senses until he was a couple of blocks away from the fortress.

Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches ... He went to the house ...where many people had gathered and were praying . Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, ... she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel”.  But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter ...described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. In the morning... Herod had ... the guards executed (Acts 12:11-19).

The Church had been desperately praying for the deliverance of Peter. Yet when Peter appeared at the door their response was is “you are out of your mind,” “It must be his angel”. God answers our prayers even when we don't fully believe He can. Jesus said that even if you only have, "faith as small as a mustard seed nothing will be impossible" (Matt.17:20-21). Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19).

Since God is almighty, he can easily deliver His servants from humanly impossible situations if it is His will. It was no big deal to God to get Peter out of the most secure prison that Herod could devise. We cannot always explain God’s delays ,execution was only a few hours away. God could have intervened sooner. He tested His people’s faith and certainly he had a wise and beneficent plan in doing what he did.

Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” Peter said. The James who was killed by Herod was apostle John’s brother. Here we have not only the first appearance of James the Lord’s brother in the New Testament, but it also establishes him as the leader of the New Testament Church in Jerusalem. He was recognized by Paul in Galatians 2:9 as one of the three pillars of the church – Peter, James and John. This James, the Lord’s brother, is the author of the book of James.

The happenings of life are not always determined by those massive physical forces of evil that move about in this fallen world. There is more to be factored into any situation! Most of the time we focus only on the impossible situation and not on God, who is absolute Lord of every situation! We will never know the difference our prayers make until we get to heaven. The peace and hope which Peter had is possible for every child of God. The blessed thing about hope is that it reaches beyond this life (I Cor. 15:19). “The righteous has hope in his death” (Psalm 14:32).