Slapstick Faith
Stunned by the Supernatural Intervention by God
Acts 12:1-19
Chained in a Place of Hopelessness
Chains bind the apostle Peter in a “mission impossible” scenario. In the dark jail, Peter sleeps while shackled between two guards. Four squads secure Herod’s high-profile prisoner, each taking watches throughout the night. Attempting to please the Jews, Herod’s sword of judgment has already executed James, Peter’s friend and fellow disciple. Peter’s trial will commence the next morning as Herod plots to gain more political capital. Fearing the worst, the church agonizes in prayer for Peter’s deliverance. Hope feels as dim as the dungeon. Yet God’s power works within the dark of hopelessness.
In the quiet night, an unseen rescue mission unfolds. The biblical story records an angel shoving Peter awake with a: “Quick, get up!” as a light pierces the cell. Stunned and thinking he dreams a vision, Peter watches his chains fall off as they exit undetected by the soldiers. Next, the outer prison gate swings open on its own and Peter stands alone and disoriented in the midnight street—a mission impossible completed by the miraculous.
Stunned by Answered Prayer
Stunned but regaining his wits in the night air, Peter finds his way to the praying and grieving church. When he knocks at the front gate, the servant girl races inside to announce his arrival. His friends accuse her of madness or assume Peter’s ghost has come to call. Vulnerable in their hopelessness, they leap to any explanation rather than believe the answer to their prayers.
I giggle a little when I imagine the slapstick scene as they run back and forth in confusion, even forgetting to invite Peter inside. But to be fair, how often do I feel the same dizzying amazement when God works concretely in my own life? After all, I follow Christ because of the greatest supernatural occurrence in history—his physical resurrection from the dead! Yet, I’m still astonished when he heals my cancer, or provides a scholarship for school, or guides me to the exact word of encouragement I need to keep going.
“God’s power determined the outcome, not the strength of their faith.”
I’m comforted that neither doubt nor disbelief changed the reality of Peter’s rescue. He couldn’t believe his eyes as the guards, chains, and locks all gave way—hard evidence of supernatural intervention. In response to the prayers of his followers, the invisible God entered the events of the physical world. God’s power determined the outcome, not the strength of their faith.
Faith in the Unseen Works of God
Doubt may cause our minds to spin in slapstick confusion. Disbelief may bind us with anxiety. And sometimes the way forward may not meet our expectations, with our prayer answered in a way we do not expect. But our faith can surge by remembering the resurrection—the supreme miraculous act that pierced the ultimate barrier of death. Seen or unseen, God works tangibly in the lives of those who depend upon him. Even if we only have enough faith to ask.