11Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
I could only imagine the thoughts that were flowing through Peter’s mind as he sat in prison. Would he be put to death as it was for James, some other believers, and even Jesus his Master? It seemed inevitable and I wonder if Peter thought, “ I guess this is the end for me”.
However, God was not finished with Peter and he was miraculously rescued by an angel. Wouldn’t it be great if all of us could be miraculously rescued from all our troubles?
I thought so but I realized that God’s ultimate purpose is not to bless us but to glorify Himself. Peter must have been so uncomfortable, scared and was being unjustly mistreated but God didn’t rescue Peter because prison was such an inconvenience to him. God rescued Peter because He wanted to continue using Peter for His Glory.
I am thankful for all of God’s blessing and goodness onto me. Every day I seek to be in His favor and I seek His help in untangling me from whatever hardships I find myself in. In the process I forget that this life is not all about me, it’s about Glorifying God. Whatever blessings, goodness and love He has shown to me is meant to bring Him Glory somehow. We all seek a peaceful, comfortable, abundant and joyful life but I realized this is not the end all in life. Though it may be a struggle, though it may be inconvenient and uncomfortable, though it may bring us to a dark and lonely place, we are meant to fulfill God’s purpose for His Glory.
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2 comments:
thanks for your reflection, lynn. i thought it was interesting how the Lord sent help in the form of an angel to deliver peter, but peter did not recognize the deliverance when it came. i think that is true in our lives--God sends a form of help or deliverance to us, but we don't realize it till after the fact. i know it's definitely true in my own life that the help i receive from the Lord is often unrecognizable at the time. it's only after the fact that i realize it was from God.
Thanks for you reflection Lynn :)
I hope that I bring glory to God in the different circumstances He puts me in. It's hard to think about fulfilling His glory in the moment, but God's will be done with or without us.
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