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Acts 12:1-11
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
Additional Scripture References: Philippians 4:4-7, Acts 12:21-23, Luke 3:4-5
It goes without saying that life is full of highs and lows. If we aren’t careful, navigating challenges can leave us feeling like life is unfair. But in the middle of the chaos is always a silver lining — just because our circumstances might be bad doesn’t mean God is not good. Every challenge is an opportunity to walk by faith and not by sight.
Sin left the world broken, but God’s grace creates a way out
Why do bad things happen to good people? Put simply, sometimes life just doesn’t make sense.
Think of Peter’s situation. At this moment in scripture, he’s chained in a prison cell surrounded by guards shortly after his friend was put to death. This isn’t the outcome anyone would expect for someone committed to preaching the Gospel. A mature church flips the scenario — instead of hating when bad things happen to good people, we can love when good people happen to bad things. No matter the situation, God works for the good of those who love Him.
When our circumstances don’t make sense, we should respond in a way that doesn’t make sense either. For example, look at Peter sitting in prison — in an overwhelmingly bad situation, we see the church praying and Peter sleeping. Out of nowhere, an angel appeared, Peter’s chains broke, and he left the prison at the angel’s command. Instead of choosing worry or fear, our response should be to pray, rest, and take action as God leads us. We are meant to walk by faith, choosing the path that doesn’t make sense.
The posture of maturity is humility. Prayer and rest position us to get low, shifting our eyes away from our circumstances and toward Jesus. It’s getting up from the low place to take action that makes us strong. Following God is often unexplainable, leading us down the road less traveled. It might not make sense to the world, but God is always pleased by our faith.
Spend time this week reflecting. In what areas of your life is God calling you to take a step of faith? Write it down and share it with a friend.
We’re in week two of Pray First and there’s still time to join! Prayer is where intimacy with God begins—it aligns our hearts with His will and unlocks Heaven’s power in our lives.
Let’s grow closer to God together. Don’t miss this opportunity!
Join us for Pray First by texting "PRAY" to 30596.
Monday - Friday
Zoom Prayer @ 6:30AM
vouschurch.com/zoom
Monday - Saturday
IG Live @ 12:00PM
Wednesday - 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Prayer Rooms - Miami Gardens
Wednesday, January 15 - Pray First Gathering
7:00PM Pre-Hang
7:30PM Service
SoMi, Miami Gardens, Design District
For all gatherings information and resources on Pray First, please click here!
We are having baptisms this Sunday, January 19th, across all of our locations, and on the beach.
To sign up for baptisms, please click here.
Heart & Soul will be taking place on Wednesday, January 22nd. This is a night for anyone who loves VOUS with worship, community, and a stakeholders message from Pastor Rich on where we're headed in 2025.
This SZN, we will be holding Heart & Soul at VOUS City!
RSVP here to let us know which location you will be joining us at. This is a night you do not want to miss!
This month's spotlight initiative is human trafficking awareness. We aim to bring light to this critical issue by partnering with organizations working to prevent trafficking and support survivors.
We will meet at our South Miami, Design District, and Miami Gardens locations on Saturday, January 25th at 10:30am to gather and serve at an outreach throughout the city.
To sign up for an outreach at one of our locations or an Off-Site outreach, please click here.
VOUS SoMi
8:45AM / 10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM
VOUS City
10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM
VOUS Miami Gardens
10:30AM / 12:30PM
VOUS Design District
10:30AM / 12:30PM
Church Online
10AM / 5PM Español
Growth Track
After every service or join online at vouschurch.com/growthtrack
