- Acts 12:11 (NKJV) And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”
Peter thought he was having a dream. He had been locked up for preaching the Gospel and was scheduled to be executed at sunrise but lo and behold, God sent an angel to rescue him! Somebody shout: “What a mighty God we serve!”
Now, let me share a nightmare with you. Just a few short days before Peter was imprison, his colleague and close friend – James, the brother of John – was also imprisoned and scheduled to be executed at sunrise. However, on this occasion God did not send an angel and God did not lift a finger to help James. Instead, God allowed James to be killed (Acts 12:1-3).
How do you explain that? Peter, James and John were Jesus’ closest companions and friends. I can understand why Jesus would send an angel to rescue his close friend and disciple, Simon Peter. What is harder to explain is why Jesus did not send help to rescue his other close friend and disciple, James. Matter of fact, I can’t explain it.
Years ago, Sonja shared something that her dad would tell her from time to time. She would come to her dad complaining and worrying about some question for which she could not find an answer. Her dad would reply, “Now Sonja, the insane asylums are full of people trying to find an answer to that question. Sometimes you just have to trust God.”
That answer has stood the test of time and trials for me. If you live long enough, sooner or later you are going to run into a situation for which you can’t find an answer. There are going to be things that happen that are going to make you scratch your head and ask, “What was God thinking?” Well dear friend, there are just some things that there doesn’t appear to be answer for – at least in this life. Sometimes you just have to trust God, even when life doesn’t make sense; either that or drive yourself crazy.
The ONE THING 