Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

The world was stunned on January 3, 2026 as the US forces captured the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, in a military operation codenamed “Operation Absolute Resolve”. The expert manner in which the mission was executed was breathtaking. Perhaps, the only operation that came close to this in recent history was the raiding of a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011 when Osama Bin Laden was killed. Such missions leave the world in awe and admiration.

God knows how to deliver the righteous; and when the time comes, no device of man can stop Him…Angels have not been withdrawn from believers; so we can still enjoy their services.

As wonderful as these were, they are grossly inferior to the deliverance of Peter by the angel. On the night of his deliverance, he was sleeping between two soldiers. That means his legs were tied, one each to the two soldiers. Whoever would steal Peter away must have to contend with these two fierce-looking Roman soldiers. When the angel entered, the chain snapped; yet there was not a stir among the soldiers. The angel told Peter to arise and that, too, did not wake them up. The summary of this is that God knows how to deliver the righteous; and when the time comes, no device of man can stop Him. Writing to the Hebrews, the author described the angels as ministering spirits who have been assigned to minister to heirs of salvation. That talks of those who are born again and have been redeemed. Angels have not been withdrawn from believers; so we can still enjoy their services.

In our previous meditation, we saw how Peter was delivered from prison and death through the ministry of the angel. To appreciate this deliverance, let us go over the huddles. Firstly, a chain tied him to two Roman soldiers. Two, there was the immediate door leading to where Peter was kept. Add to that the main door to the prison house, and the obstacle will seem daunting enough. The verse before us pinpoints three other obstacles. You have the first and the second guard posts before coming to the iron gate that led to the city. The angel of God beat all these security arrangements and set Peter free.

You may not fully understand what God is doing in your case right now, but keep following.

In Isaiah 43:13, God exercised His bragging rights – “Yes, from the time of the first existence of day and from this day forth I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand. I will work, and who can hinder or reverse it?” (AMPC). God was set to deliver Peter in answer to the prayer of the saints, and no efforts of Herod and his agents could keep him bound. All that Peter needed to do was to follow the lead. When light shone in the prison, the angel asked him to get up. He did. Next, he was asked to put on his garment and tie his sandals. He obeyed. Then he followed the angel, even when he did not fully understand what was going on. You may not fully understand what God is doing in your case right now, but keep following.

In our previous meditation, we learned of Herod’s failure to kill Peter the way he did to James. The prayer of the saints played a major role in this. The church made unceasing prayer for him while he was in prison. Upon his deliverance, Mary’s place was his first port of call. Mary must have been a prominent woman in the Church and, perhaps, a person of means. Peter’s choice of this place must have been informed either by the fact that the Church had used her place for meeting purposes before or was prompted by the Spirit. Anyway, that was the best choice as people gathered there to pray for Peter’s release.

Testimony has its place in our worship of God…it is a way to thank God…your testimony stirs up faith in the heart of your hearers.

Showing up in the middle of the night seemed too good to be true for the praying saints. It literally brought to light the words of Psalm 126:1 – “When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream.” Peter had to clear their doubts by sharing his testimony. Testimony has its place in our worship of God. Primarily, it is a way to thank God. Many times in the Psalms we read of commitments to telling the deeds of the Lord in the assembly of the saints. Apart from this, your testimony stirs up faith in the heart of your hearers. They too can reach out to God and be persuaded that heaven will come through for them. For those who gathered  in Mary’s home that night, Peter’s testimony would have gone a long way to reassuring them that they had not laboured in vain and that we serve a God who answers prayers.

Following the declaration of Peter that Christ was the Son of the living God, Jesus promised to build His church with the assurance that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The words of Jesus have come through again and again both in ancient and modern history. The persecution of the church started soon enough after Christ’s ascension. The apostles were threatened and beaten. They were thrown into jail at some point. Herod took the persecution to a new height when he killed James. His attempt to follow on the heels of that with Peter’s arrest failed as God intervened supernaturally. When he could not kill Peter, he executed the soldiers who had custody of the apostle. Those men became a ransom for Peter.

God’s word will always outlive its persecutors…Those who stay faithful to the word of God will outlive their challenges.

Herod later overstepped his bounds when he engaged his oratorical power in addressing the people of Tyre and Sidon. He was instantly eaten by worms because he took the glory that rightly belonged to God. The lesson today is that the Word of God which he tried to silence by persecuting the leaders of the Church lived on. He died but the word lives! This has always been the case in history. God’s word will always outlive its persecutors. There is a personal application of this to life’s many challenges. When a child of God faces challenges, he or she should hold on to faith. Those who stay faithful to the word of God will outlive their challenges. The affliction of the righteous may be many, but as the scripture says, they shall be delivered from them all.

Abraham received a promise of increase and enlargement from God. Two significant things are attached to that promise. Firstly, the promise was made trans-generational because God included his children in the package. Understandably, God reiterated the same promise when Isaac and Jacob came on the scene. Secondly, the promise was backed with an oath. Specifically, after Abraham obeyed God by offering Isaac in a figure, God swore to do as He had promised. Believers have all been made a part of Abraham’s lineage through faith. Therefore, we can lay claim to this blessing of Abraham just as Isaac and Jacob did.

Believers who long for increase and enlargement are not acting out of context…it is an expression of faith which connects us to the ability of God…God wants us to put forward our expectations because they represent our faith.

Believers who long for increase and enlargement are not acting out of context. We can raise our expectation in this regard because it plays a major role in our walk with God. In a sense, it is an expression of faith which connects us to the ability of God. I read of a poet who wrote that to be free from disappointment and heartaches, one should have no expectations. However, God’s word teaches the exact opposite of that. God wants us to put forward our expectations because they represent our faith. Finally, let us bear in mind as we said yesterday that even concerning this, what we expect may not come in one package but a little at a time.

The creation story in Genesis 1 did not only show products but processes as well. Since we know God to be Omnipotent, He can do all things, including creating everything at once. However, God did not go that route. Rather, He created things in an orderly, sequential, and piecemeal manner – just a little at a time. By this He established a profound principle that will guide us in our pursuits. Never expect that the purpose of your heart will be realized all at once. Not even if you claim that the purpose originated from God.

God will bring increase your way a little at a time not just because of His principle but because of your capacity to receive…Never despise the day of little beginning; overtime the little will compound and yield great results.

God promised to give the land of Canaan as an inheritance to the children of Abraham. Our text spelt out the method He recommended; He was not going to give them everything at once, but little by little. The same principle stands when you convert this to pursuit of success and increase. God will bring increase your way a little at a time not just because of His principle but because of your capacity to receive. He will never allow any increase that will overwhelm you so that the blessing does not become a curse. Therefore, when we submit to His discipline and the training, we facilitate our access to greater blessings. Be thankful to God for where you are now, and count on His promise to take you further in life. Remember, if you walk closely with God your light can only shine brighter. Never despise the day of little beginning; overtime the little will compound and yield great results.