Getting Up and Getting Out

The odds were beyond impossible. The prisoner on death row was next in line. Hope was gone. Unjustly arrested and imprisoned, the prisoner slept in chains.

People prayed like crazy for God to intervene. Things looked very bleak. Then God stepped in. What happened next is almost beyond belief. You could say God worked a miracle.

Here is the scene. As the prisoner slept a visitor showed up undetected by the guards. The chains were opened, removed. The visitor instructed the incarcerated man to put on his clothes and shoes and follow Him. They walked right out of the prison past guards and through iron gates that miraculously opened. Once outside the prison the mystery rescuer slipped away leaving the former prisoner alone and thinking it had been a dream.

You can read about this in Acts 12. Peter was not only imprisoned but had multiple guards watching him. A lot of people were praying. O praise God for prayer that makes the impossible possible, that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary, and can connect the natural with the supernatural.

When it looked hopeless God stepped in. When the angel of the Lord entered that prison cell undetected by anyone, but Peter, things changed suddenly. The chains fell off.

Now do not miss this. The angel told Peter to get his cloak, to put on his sandals, and gird his loins and follow him out. In other words the angel told Peter, "Get up and get out of here. You have been in this prison long enough. You have more to do. We're getting up and getting out."

That's where many of you are today. You are tired. You are boxed in by impossible circumstances. Things look bleak. Things look hopeless. You would give up except for this one thing. PRAYER. Prayer can change anything and anyone as God answers. Through prayer God steps down from eternity to invade our lives and our circumstances. Praise His name. Read what God is able to do. [Jer 32:17] [Jer 32:27] [Matt 19:26] [Eph 3:20] [James 5:16]

In your personal prison it is time to pray, trust God, gather prayer support from others and believe God for a miracle. He still does them you know. Expect God to step in to help and say, "It's time to get up and to get out!"

Let me tell you a quick story. This past July I preached at a youth camp in east Texas and took Turner with me. We had a great time together and Turner and I made some special memories.  At the end of the week over lunch the camp leadership slid an envelope with an honorarium in it to me. Turner pushed it back immediately and said we would not take it. He has seen us do this in the past and over meals. He is generous like his mother. I was flabbergasted. I had not told him to do that and the truth was we really needed that money. The cost of the trip itself to the camp had taxed us financially. The camp leaders slid the envelope again but Turner insisted we would not take it. The whole thing was very awkward and uncomfortable for me. By that time I could not take the money. Turned out God was in the whole thing.

Fast forward about three months. Things have been tight financially in our home. As usual we cried out to God for help. Yesterday I checked the mail and there was an envelope that caught my attention. When I opened it it was a card from the people of that youth camp thanking me for my service at the camp and an honorarium check enclosed. God heard our prayers. God stepped in. God stepped in. God showed up. God moved. God performed another financial miracle in our lives.

We were able to get up and get out of our troubled circumstances. I believe with all my heart God can step into your situation and help you get up and get out of your troubles too. Hallelujah. We are getting up and getting out!