The Guards Slept On (#47)

Peter snapped awake, still feeling the blow. Light everywhere, brighter than day, but the guards slept on.

“Quick, get up!” the shining man commanded.

He turned, unrolling from chains to the one standable position. Wrists floated free as manacles clattered to the stone floor. Guards, swords at hand, still slept. No calls, no questions, no threats through the gate—brilliantly flooded silence.

“Get dressed. Follow me,” the—angel maybe?—ordered.

Follow where? The other side of the cell? But his feet slid obediently across cold, slimy rock into sandals, and he pulled the cloak closer. They walked to the first gate, pushed it open, and passed the guards. Nothing. On through the next gate without a word. Finally, the main prison gate to the city swung open without hands. Still, no out-cry raised an alarm, no challenge overtook them, no spear in back, no fist to face. They walked through the prison in blazing, silent light. A remarkable dream, he marveled. Wonder what it means? Something about freedom in the Spirit, surely. This feels so real. Definitely won’t be fun waking up between those two soldiers again. His guide smiled as if hearing the thought, then vanished, leaving him alone in the dark street.

The truth is that we usually find only what we expect to see. When we go to Jesus, what do we expect? A political king, as the Israelites did? An early bridegroom, as the five foolish virgins did? A slain teacher as the disciples did? If we seek what Jesus can do for us, we’ll find that all things, all ideas, all situations eventually fail. On the other hand, if we seek Jesus himself as our reward, expecting to find Him, He guarantees success—and throws in all the other stuff, too.