Christian Corner #1: Lessons from Acts 12

I was recently reading the Bible from the book of Acts chapter 12 and certain thoughts crossed my mind that I found worth sharing. I would recommend that you read the full chapter to get the context.

Peace in a storm In his quest to persecute the church, King Herod had killed James the brother of John, one of the twelve disciples. He had now arrested Peter intending to execute him the same way. The night before his execution, Peter was in a prison cell, heavily guarded and chained....but fast asleep! Like seriously, who sleeps on the eve of their execution? The answer is that Peter trusted God and was at peace with his fate. If God would deliver him, that was fine, if he would let him die like James, that was also fine. We worry a lot of times about things we don't have control over and fail to trust God's will to prevail. Even in the middle of crises in our lives, we can have peace knowing that whatever the outcome, good or bad in our eyes, God has our best interests. Besides, worrying often does little to change the situation. #Lesson 1 - If we have the faith that God is in control, we can be at peace knowing that whatever the outcome of the difficult situations we go through in our lives, God knows what's best for us.

Power of intercessory prayer While Peter was in prison, the church was praying the whole night for his deliverance. They could have been sleeping because it was not them whose lives were on the line the following day but Peter's problem became theirs too. How many times do we pray for one another? Many times our prayers tend to be about us, our protection, our well being, our plans, and not about others who may be going through the worst. Sometimes, people become so overwhelmed by life's problems and it is during such times that we need to carry each other in prayer. Who knows, maybe what keeps us going or what made us go through certain seasons in our lives was because someone somewhere was praying for us. #Lesson 2 - Always remember to pray for others, in their seasons of discouragement and when their faith is shaken, who knows, maybe it is your prayer that will make the difference.

God's mysterious ways So Peter was miraculously delivered from a heavily guarded prison that night and consequently survived the execution. Both fighting the same cause, James was executed but Peter was saved. Why did God also not save James? The answer is, we don't know! He is God and His ways are too complex for us to understand. He sees the bigger picture. There are times when we would like God to act in a certain way but we forget that God's ways are not our ways. Are we trusting enough to believe that whatever path God decides our lives to take, he has good plans for us and all things will work together for the good? Sometimes things might not seem to make sense but we should trust Him still. #Lesson 3 - God's ways are too complex for us to figure out. He acts when and how He sees fit. However, whatever way He chooses to act, the promise is sure that He has good plans for us and that all things will ultimately work together for the good.

Prayer and the outcomes God always answers an earnest prayer. It might be not answered in the way we expect or at the time we expect but He surely answers. The church was praying for Peter but when God answered their prayer and Peter showed up, the church could not believe it. This might indicate that as much as they were praying, they did not believe that their prayer would be answered in this way or it could just have been a case that it was too good to be true. #Lesson 4 - When we prayer, let us also be ready to receive the answer in the form it comes, when it comes. Some prayers are answered instantly and miraculously while others are answered after a long wait, and or in the ways not expected.

Pleasing people King Herod killed James and it pleased the religious leaders at the time. He had planned on killing Peter to further please people. One day, he sat on his throne and gave a speech. The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!” Herod was driven by the desire to please people. Whether something was good or bad, as long it pleased people, that is all that mattered, no principles, no ethics, no justice. How many times do we do things even though we know they are not right - just to please people. The desire to belong, to be identified with a certain group, to be accepted, to be loved, fear of rejection often leads us into doing things that we know we should not do. #Lesson 4 - Faced with a choice, choose the option of pleasing God rather than people.

Stretching God's patience After Herod's speech and people shouting “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”, Acts 12v23NLT says Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died. God might have seemed quiet when Herod was persecuting the church and its leaders but there came a day when He acted and that was the end. We have done or continue to do not so good things. Because there are no immediate consequences, we tend to think that all is well. That God is not acting now does not mean things will stay the same. Just like in Herod's case, God will not always be silent, one day, He will act, and that will be the end. #Lesson 5 - If we are on the wrong path, we can and should change course now for we never know when our end will come.

#Acts 12