from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2GHVjX0
via IFTTT Peter was sleeping, and deliverance arrived. Sleeping is of course a necessary part of our life. We can not live without sleep, and must sleep often regardless of circumstances. Yet, there seems a powerful symbolism here. Remember Jesus sleeping in the boat while the disciples panicked about the raging storm? They woke Jesus as they thought they were sinking to their death. Jesus rebuked their unbelief. Peter, was in that boat. Peter was panicking with the rest at the storm. This scripture, just a few years later, has Peter now facing certain death, chained between two guards, confined behind multiple walls and guards. There is no escape, authorities had just killed another disciple. Surely Peter was next. And now.... Peter was the one sleeping! What a powerful transformation! Peter had progressed from the fearful, anxious, panicking disciple to the calm peaceful sleeping apostle. How? In between Peter's panic and Peters peaceful sleep we're two major events. Resurrection and Pentecost. The resurrection cemented the fact that Jesus was the Messiah and that all authority was in His hands. But that did not change Peter. After resurrection we see Peter still hiding in the shadows. Pentecost transformed Peter into an apostle, a powerful spokesman who fears none but God himself. Pentecost allowed Peter to sleep peacefully facing certain death. And while Peter was sleeping, deliverance arrived. He was not awake pleading with God to rescue him. He was not trying to escape. He was not frantic or depressed or worried. He was not plotting his defense. Peter was at peace when deliverance comes. It is peace in a storm that demonstrates faith and trust. Peter didn't care what happened to him, Peter had already died and given his days to Jesus. Peter knew that Jesus controlled the future. So, what was there to fear? So often in life we face storms. We panic. We are still in the boat as a disciple. Why? Perhaps we still hang on to our life. Perhaps we have not given full authority to Jesus over our days. Perhaps we do not truly trust that God loves you as an individual. Perhaps we do not believe that Jesus directs our daily walk. This story is a symbol of stepping out of the boat, and walking like Jesus, with Jesus, through the "clothing of power" at Pentecost. We find peace when we trust. The storm matters not. The certainty of evil matters not. We follow God and remain at peace. This covers all areas of life. Health, politics, finances, daily schedule. Everything. We find peace when we put it all in God's capable hands and trust Him, then just follow the principles of scripture. Sleep peacefully and see if God will deliver. For example, in recent years we have faced difficult choices in politics. On several fronts there just didn't seem a good choice. Many, if not most, panicked. They saw the storm and feared death. This panic caused a fear that in turn caused them to do anything to avoid what they feared, even compromising the principles of scripture. The fear drove them to do unrighteous acts of voting against clear mandates in scripture. Driven by fear of God not honoring His promises, they took matters into their own hands and "did what was necessary in man's wisdom" to block the worser evil. In the end, they chose the lesser evil that had the best chance, and the result? They won. We got the lesser evil and thereby lost because evil won. There are many such examples, where we panic and get busy following man's wisdom because "God is not acting so we must". Anxiety, worry, panic. Man steps out and acts... Tries to escape, driven by fear of evil. But in this scripture, Peter slept. And then, while sleeping at peace in trust, deliverance came. Perhaps God has not acted yet because we are still working under our own wisdom and power? He can not rescue us while there is any chance that we might assume credit from our own actions. He loves us too much to feed our pride. God waits until we give up, and sleep. Rest. Trust. The lesson? Simple... No matter what. Wait on God in trust and peace. Do what is necessary in accordance to God's word, never compromise, never give up. The angel came while Peter slept at peace. Find your own peace in trusting Jesus, and an angel may come to bring deliverance, if not... That's ok too.
