And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and the keepers before the door kept the prison. Acts 12:6
Years ago there was a program on TV called Mission Impossible in which a special team would be given a task that involved doing things that most of us would shrug off as totally impossible. The team made use of amazing ingenuity and unusual technology to capture secrets, break codes, bypass security, and outfox some very brilliant and determined people. The team always somehow managed to convert a job labelled as mission impossible into mission accomplished. But that team would have been hard pressed to crack the case of Peter’s imprisonment. So why was Peter sleeping so soundly on the night before his execution?
Herod had already killed James, to the delight of the Jewish leaders. Killing the more prominent and outspoken Peter would have been even more popular. So Herod was not going to allow Peter to escape. Security included far more than just a double lock on the doors and a constant guard at the prison gate. It included chains that bound Peter to two soldiers, one on either side, and they remained at his side even all through the night. It would have been impossible for any of the Christians to have penetrated the prison, and even if they had, they would have been unable to release him from his guards. There was no way out for Peter. Do we ever run into circumstances that apparently have no way of deliverance from catastrophe? Yes. we do. When disaster appears ready to happen, do we lie down and relax, or do we immerse ourselves in frustration and worry? What did Peter do? We know he was not expecting a miraculous deliverance at the hand of an angel, because we read further on that he thought it was a dream. We also know he was not terribly worried about the morrow and its dire outlook. He would have know that the Christians were praying for him, and that would have given him support. But even more important, he knew that God was in control. God had allowed him to be arrested, and God would take care of the outcome. He had learned enough of the leading of the Lord to know that whatever happened would be right. And he was content with that. Could we be so content?
Many – possibly even most – of the pickles we get into are the result of our own foolish actions or decisions. And we have to sleep in the beds we have made. But God also brings circumstances into our lives that are beyond our control. We may see ourselves in a situation that has no outcome other than disaster or hopelessness. In such cases, we need to learn the lesson that Peter learned. He could do nothing for himself in the prison. So he turned the matter over to his Lord and went to sleep. I know that is not always easy. But it always works.
When our outlook is no better than Peter’s, can we adopt the same approach as Peter’s? -Jim MacIntosh