Wednesday 12, August 2026

Many believers in Y’shua have bought into the notion that life in Christ is void of challenges. I often say that that’s when the trouble begins. One such example comes from Today’s Holy Nougat

Acts 5:21 CEVDCI

[21] So they went into the temple before sunrise and started teaching. The high priest and his men called together their council, which included all of Israel’s leaders. Then they ordered the apostles to be brought to them from the jail.

Trouble

God was in trouble.

Having sent the angel to release the believers from jail, it is correct to say God landed squarely in trouble with the religious leaders. That’s not a condition we often ascribe to God, although here, it’s absolutely correct. Somebody had infuriated the leaders, and that somebody was God, even if they hadn’t realised it.

Self-Check

How often have we failed to realise that when we’re in God’s will?

Digging Deeper

When we realise that God sends us, it should carry the assurance that we never travel alone. We might be alone in a situation as humans – our mission might be singular – but God’s Spirit is with us and so are any angels assigned to us by God. That realisation ought to be liberating! The assurance that we are not alone in trials should make it easier to bear.

And yet, it’s also problematic. Because the acceptance of God’s presence with us could challenge our understanding of God’s capacity to save us.

Until we read God’s intervention and are reminded of God’s sovereignty. In revisiting the chain of events and aligning them beside our Nougat, we might first be struck by God’s sense of humour.

Can you picture it? It’s a hilarious chain of events:

The religious leaders arrest the believers (out of jealousy) because of the Gospel they’re preaching

God sent an angel to release them from jail

The angel instructed them to go to the temple

The religious leaders – ostensibly at the temple – met to determine the fate of the offensive believers. Unaware of the divine jailbreak, they sent for the believers to be brought to them from jail.

But … we know that the jail is empty.

In fact, the believers were right there at the temple. God ‘hid’ the prisoners in plain sight! They were in the house of worship.

Humour aside, there ought to be little doubt that even in dire situations God is in total control. And that’s the assurance to which we cling.

We might not understand what’s going on.

God might seem to be missing (in which case, let’s look where we least expect God – in our place of worship, our hearts).

We might not yet see the silver lining.

But God is still in control. Which means that even if it seems God is in trouble, it’s the enemy of our souls who’s in trouble. Because God still has the last word.

Point to Ponder

If God has the last word, let’s yield to God’s plan and not our own understanding.

—

May all we seek be found in Christ