A very long night followed by a very productive day. Thank You Father for the focus given me to accomplish the things I did.
Acts 12:6-19 (<<click here to read the passage)
I often struggle with overthinking things. Often, they involve doubt over something I’ve done. In most cases, I didn’t do anything wrong but that doesn’t stop me from fretting.
They can be very simple. For example, recently a parent complained that I’d driven past her child at her stop. Of course, I’d never intentionally do that, though I might do so absentmindedly. I knew I had stopped. I knew I had looked up and down the long driveway, but I saw no one. My supervisor spoke with the parent, and all is well but for the first few days following the “incident” if she wasn’t waiting at her stop, I took extra time to make sure I wasn’t missing her.
Why do I doubt myself? I diligently adhere to protocol when it comes to safety and getting my kids to and from school. For whatever reason, I don’t have to think about doing it, my brain just does it!
There are other things much more complicated. I’m sure that I spend far too much time mulling them over from multiple angles. Honestly, letting doubt rule is a waste of time.
We all struggle with doubt, but most of us, regardless of the situations we find ourselves in, hold onto that small flicker of hope, no matter how hopeless things may seem.
As we move on with Peter’s story of incarceration, Jesus’ followers were letting their doubting minds work overtime, even though they prayed with fervency and persistence. In their hearts, they held onto the hope that by some miracle, Peter would not die.
It’s funny in a way but even when Rhoda, the servant girl, insisted that Peter was knocking at the gate, they wouldn’t believe her. They had to go see for themselves – honestly it seems that they went along with her just to prove that she was wrong. There was no way that Peter was where she said he was! They even went so far as to exclaim, “You’re out of your mind!” But, nope, she wasn’t but the problem lay in the fact that they were too much into theirs!
Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t go with our heads but with our hearts?
Regardless of their hesitancy and doubt, God answered their prayers in a mighty way, accomplishing what only He could do! His messenger – His angel – showed up right in Peter’s cell and after waking him up with a swift kick or a smack with his hand, Peter got up and followed directions (it just says he struck his side). Peter must not have been too worried because he was out for the count! And God’s will was accomplished despite their doubt.
I know it’s asking a lot, Lord Jesus, but we cannot stop doubting on our own. Help us to cry out like the father of the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9:22-24 who said,
“…if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!” Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.” AMP
Apr 14th, 2022, Thurs, 8:02 pm
