Dear Faithful One,
Has life ever felt like a prison around you? Have you longed for God to set you free? One semester, as I was teaching the lesson on “What are your repeat patterns?”, God showed me one of His patterns. May I share with you what God showed me in His Word?
The Acts of the Apostle shows us God’s patterns as He establishes His church on earth. The book ends with a non-end with Paul sitting in prison. Could the non-end be because God’s story is still continuing in each of our lives? As God continues to establish His church through us, how exciting to know that we can count on His patterns as He moves forward.
In the Acts of the Apostles, we read in Acts 5:18-20: 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. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.” NIV. When I was in seminary, Dr. Johnson put it this way, “Man judged the apostles as guilty and threw them in jail. The Holy Spirit judged them as innocent and bursts open the jail doors.” Did you need to be reminded today that one of God’s patterns is to intervene in our lives to protect His own plan?
Observe that the apostles were in the middle of sharing God’s story. So herein lies the secret to having God burst open the doors that shut. Ask yourself if what you are trying to accomplish is something that serves God’s purpose or if you have your own self-preservation as the focus. To release the full power of heaven on your behalf, we need to put all our activities under the umbrella of “How will this advance God’s purpose on earth?” God is always interested in His own purpose. We exist to serve His dreams. He does not exist to bless ours, though He often gives us the desires of our heart when our hearts are fully surrendered to Him.
If God has not opened the door, could it be because there is still work to be done where you are? At the end of the day, what is important is that you have finished being a witness of God’s power in the place He has planted you. May we stop living in the future and make the most of our today! May we work in our open doors and trust God to burst open any shut door that is in our way to continue what He wants to accomplish through us. I don’t know about you but I find great freedom and joy in simply making each day my best love offering and worship unto the King of Kings!
I pray this devotion encouraged you in a special way. When I pray for you, I “hear” a victory song. I believe in you because I believe in the power of God’s Word in you as you put His Word into action.
Love from Anita Carman
