Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Acts 12 before reading the devotional below.
Tensions are continuing to rise in the political and spiritual scenes of the early church era. King Herod Agrippa, the grandson of King Herod the Great who tried to have Jesus killed as a baby, sees that his poll numbers go up when he persecutes Christians. So he has the apostle James killed and later has Peter arrested.
You know life is getting interesting when you can no longer tell the difference between a trance and actual real-life happenings. So when Peter gets busted out of jail by an angel (who by the way had to knock him up-side the head to wake him up…), he doesn’t realize what is happening. And in one of the more hilarious scenes in the Bible, Peter goes to the home of some believers to stay hidden and when he knocks at the door, they get so excited they forget to actually let him in. Poor little servant girl, Rhoda, gets her name recorded for all of history as the one who forgot unlock the door for Peter in the most desperate of times…
Now, lest we think that these bad kings don’t get what’s coming to them in the end, Herod Agrippa’s death by worm-consumption is pretty creative on God’s part. Try to take God’s place and he’ll let you know why that’s not a great idea.
God’s plans always prevail in the end. It might look pretty bad when people start being thrown in jail or martyred, and it might seem like the evil rulers are winning. But wait long enough to read the rest of the story and you will surely see that God has his day. Your plans might fail, but God’s won’t. Earthly schemes fall apart. And any evil that does succeed here on earth will be destroyed by God’s kingdom for all of eternity. That’s a guarantee. And it is why following the Spirit’s lead makes a life-or-death difference for all of us.