Acts 12.1-25

 Acts 12.1-25

What keeps you up at night? We toss and turn and lose sleep over so many worries. But Peter, the night before he is supposed to be put to death, sleeps peacefully. He is resting so deeply that when light shines in the cell, it doesn’t wake him. The angel has to strike him on his side to wake him up. Once awake, Peter appears to be so groggy that he has to be told every little thing to do. He is sleeping so soundly that even though awake, he thinks he is having a vision. Peter was in deep, deep sleep the night before his scheduled execution. He is sleeping as if he has not a care in the world. When our faith grows to the point that all we fear in the whole universe is God, we can rest at ease facing any circumstance. 

It is ironic that while Peter sleeps, the church was having a prayer vigil. Scripture does not state specifically that they were praying for his release. We need to be careful about assigning that prayer to them and then claiming that they lack faith when Rhoda reported Peter’s presence. This is perhaps one of the cases where God did more for His people than they could have imagined or even asked. There’s a beautiful moment when we realize that something greater than our wildest dreams has become a reality because of God's grace. God is patient with us, and His goodness outperforms our comprehension! 

In contrast to the peace of God, there’s the torment of the lost world in its grasping and fighting. The word “disturbance” in verse 18 comes from the word “to agitate“. There is a lesson here. When we are trying to run our own lives outside of God’s will, we are constantly going to be disturbed and agitated. Ultimately the life of Herod comes to a deserved and horrible end. His was an end appropriate for his agitation. He had been acting to please the Jews with James’ death and Peter’s arrest. He was engaged in political intrigues with the people of Tyre and Sidon to advance his authority. He had games in Caesarea to honor his friend Claudius and gain imperial power. His life that was marked by agitation and a pattern of constant grasping for more. And it ends with him in agony, tossing, turning, and rotting in his deathbed. Contrast that wretched end and unpleasant picture to that of Peter as he slept so soundly and what was expected to be his deathbed.

 "Lord, grant me such faith in You that I will always be at peace. AMEN"