Expect to Be Astonished by God’s Work in Your Life

With a Subtitle: Acts 12 reminds Christians to keep asking, seeking, and knocking in faith.

A brief Excerpt: Peter’s rescue in Acts 12 reminds us that God still does astonishing things. Christians should never grow numb to His power, presence, or answered prayer.

The Author is: Rich Holt

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Acts 12:16, “But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.”

Background

My wife has a habit of wondering things. She doesn’t so much stare up at the stars and contemplate the universe as she wonders about the here and now and the everyday. And these musings generally come in two forms. One, for example, might sound like, “I wonder why they sent me the same thing in the mail two days in a row?” The other might be, “I wonder if the kids will eat these green beans if we fix them for dinner tonight?” Now, to the first, my general response is either nothing at all or a facetious “I wonder.” But to the second, I usually say, “I don’t know, but I know how to find out.” And find out we do. Moments later, after asking said people about said subject, we have the answer in hand and no longer need to wonder about it. And situations like these are what make me wonder, as in why didn’t someone inside the house where Peter was knocking just open the door and see who was there? Instead of arguing whether little Rhoda was insane or not, or proposing that an angel was making all the noise, why not just go and find out? And when they finally did, they were astonished at who was there.

Application

Now, most would chide them for their amazement in light of the high probability that they had been praying for just such a miracle for Peter, so why be amazed that God answered their prayers? I, on the other hand, join in on their astonishment because it was astonishing. Peter was in the hands of the enemy and hours from death. Nothing short of something astonishing would let him see another day. It took supernatural power to make happen what did, and that should never stop making us marvel. The problem is, it could happen more, in the here and now and every day, if we spent time closer to Jesus and on our face before the Father. There can be something astonishing in tonight’s dinner or tomorrow’s mail or this weekend’s trip to the store if we just open the door and look for it. Never grow used to God’s working, and never think that He won’t do what only He is capable of doing. He is astonishing, and that’s why we should be asking, seeking, and knocking.

Charge

As we seek Him today, expect to be astonished by the closeness that God offers you.