ARE YOU LIVING FREE OR ARE YOU IN JAIL?

Acts 5:17-19

Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.

In our passage today, the high priest and his associates were jealous, so they used their political power to have the apostles thrown in jail. But the Lord had a different plan, He sent His angel to open the doors of the jail and "brought them out." This is a really interesting choice of words, because the angel of the Lord didn't just hold the door open for them and ask if they would like to leave. He actually brought them out. In other words, they didn't choose to come out of captivity -- the Lord delivered them!

Throughout the Bible we read story after story of God's faithfulness in the face of adversity, despite the faithlessness of His people. Paul says in Romans 8:24, "Hope that is seen is no hope at all. For who hopes for what he already has?" What kind of faith would it have taken by Peter and John if they already knew the outcome?

I recently had a difficult situation arise at work. As I reviewed all the issues and what seemed to be the hopelessness of the situation, I thought about our passage today. Peter and John were sitting in jail despite doing the Lord's will -- isn't that how I felt? Regardless of the fact that I had done what I thought was the right thing, here I was in "jail" -- not from a legal perspective, but without any reasonable way out of my problem. I thought about the Israelites from Exodus 14: 13-14, and what Moses told them: "don't be afraid", "stand firm", and "you need only to be still". That is such great advice for any crisis situation. So that's what I did. I got control over my fear (or concern), I stood my ground (I didn't second guess my original decision and play the "could of" or "should of" game), and I rested (or stood still) in the fact that God was in control and if I followed these steps then (from verse 14) -- "you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today". I really like that promise, especially the "today" and "deliverance" parts.

Sure enough, everything worked out. How? I don't know, but once I was freed from the negative emotions of fear, doubt and panic, I could recognize that God had delivered me from my crisis, and the path toward resolution was clearly marked before me. I had taken an intellectual understanding of scripture and successfully applied it to a real life situation.

Let me be clear about one thing: God did not deliver me from this problem in the way I imagined, envisioned or even preferred. But I was delivered nonetheless, just as the apostles were delivered, although not in the exact way they probably expected.

What real life jam are you in right now? The one where you feel like you are in jail and there is no way out? Will you rely on God's promises? Will you trust in His deliverance?

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