There is a story about a man wrongly imprisoned in an eastern European country. The reason the man was being sent to prison? Leading a Bible study. The warden harshly treated him, but each morning he would get up and sing a hymn for all the prisoners to hear. This went on for years, and on the day he was to be executed, he was given his release papers instead and shoved outside the prison gate. His Bible study never stopped meeting nor praying for his release. When he got home, there was no small disturbance.
ACTS 12:18
“Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter.”
Hard to Accept
Peter had a habit of breaking out of prison. I’m joking, of course, but he was broken out of jail on several occasions. Soldiers have a sense of pride in doing their work. Peter was gone. He had escaped, but they couldn’t figure out how it happened. This was hard to accept. God sent several messages through this jailbreak. To Peter, the message was keep preaching the Gospel. No one is going to stop you. The message to the Scribes and Pharisees was, “Don’t mess with me.”
Missed Opportunities
I can’t remember how many missed opportunities for God because I was intimidated. When I read this story, I felt a little convicted. If there is a hint of pain or a possibility of struggle, Christians often give up. They don’t push through and brush it off by saying it wasn’t God’s will. What if God wanted to bust you out of prison and do something miraculous? By stopping short, someone wasn’t reached, and your faith was stretched.
No Small Disturbance
In these last days, people are going to persecute you because it pleases others. That is why Herod threw Peter into prison. He saw it pleased the Jews. If you suffer for your faith, don’t worry. God sees what is going on and has His hands upon you. Trust His sovereignty and watch Him work. You might be amazed to find the people causing trouble, like the Roman soldiers after Peter went missing. There will be no small disturbance.