“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”
John 9:4 (KJV)
The normally clanging prison gates silently opened as an angel whisked past sixteen sleeping guards to find Peter in a peaceful sleep. James had already been martyred, and Peter thought he was next on the list. Even so, his heart was calm and trustful, knowing that his next view would be the sight of his beloved Jesus.
Peter’s ability to fall into such a serene slumber didn’t happen overnight. He was very rough around the edges, and it took much sanding to smooth out his flaws. Peter may have been wild and uncultivated, but he was also genuine and teachable—just what Jesus needed from this lowly fisherman.
After three-and-a-half years of following Jesus, Peter was still, well, he was still Peter. Just before Christ’s death, Peter thought only about his own preservation and denied his Lord, just as Jesus said He would. Peter’s wake-up call came when the rooster crowed three times early that morning. Realizing his weakness, he submitted his heart to his Savior.
After Pentecost, God drew near to His energetic apostle so that he wielded powerful messages of hope. Using Peter, 3,000 souls became Christians in one day. Now the disciple was facing a death sentence for preaching and calling people to allow their hearts to be purified of wretchedness. Despite his sentencing, he fell into a tranquil rest, knowing he had done his best for his Master.
The brightness of the angel awoke no one, and he urgently shook Peter: “Arise up quickly” (Acts 12:7 KJV). The chains that bound his wrists clattered to the floor.
Even amidst the ruckus of rousting Peter from his peaceful respite, the prison guards continued to sleep unconsciously, almost as if they were in a drugged stupor. “Dress yourself and put on your sandals” (Acts 12:8 ESV) , the angel commanded. During these moments, Peter had a Psalm 34:7 experience: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.”1
In a hazy brain fog, Peter did as he was ordered. As the pair passed the comatose guards, the normally rackety iron gates swung open noiselessly.
On the street, the angel vanished. When Peter came to his senses, he realized that he was on the very road he would have walked the next morning to his death. God still had a work for Peter to do, so He rescued His boisterous apostle.
Ultimately, Peter did die a martyr’s death sometime between AD 64 and AD 68, but that only happened in God’s timing. God had a plan for Peter’s life and rescued him because He still had another 20 years or so of work that only Peter could do. While he spent a lifetime preparing for this point, this apostle was committed to carrying out God’s will.
God has a will and a plan for your life, too. He created you uniquely for a purpose. In his second epistle, Peter wrote, “Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2 Peter 1:10 KJV).
Peter chose this word “election” because it means “chosen.” Here he drove home a familiar point that he made in his first epistle (1 Peter 2:9): “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
We are chosen. We are elected. We are chosen for God’s kingdom.
In a letter to W. W. Prescott, January 26, 1904, Ellen G. White wrote:
- There is no such thing as a human being sanctified and fitted for the heavenly kingdom not having an election to that kingdom. God elects those who have been working on the plan of addition. … For every human being, Christ has paid the election price. No one need be lost. All have been redeemed. To those who receive Christ as a personal Saviour will be given power to become the sons and daughters of God. An eternal life insurance policy has been provided for all.
- Whom God elects, Christ redeems. The Saviour has paid the redemption price for every soul. “We are not our own; for we are bought with a price.” [1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.] From the Redeemer, who from the foundation of the world has chosen us, we receive the insurance policy that entitles us to eternal life.2
In following God’s plan, Peter echoed Jeremiah 29:11(ESV), which says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God still has a work for you to do as well, and He will protect and lead you just as He did Peter, at least until your work is done. God has a specific plan for which He has elected you.
H. M. S. Richards Sr. understood the urgency of this work when he penned the following words:
Keep about your work, that God has given you.
Do not flinch because the lion roars;
Do not stop to stone the devil's dogs;
Do not fool away your time
chasing the devil's rabbits.
Keep about your work!
Let liars lie,
Let corporations resolve,
Let the devil do his worst;
But see to it that nothing hinders you from
fulfilling the work that God has given you.
Keep about your work!
He has not commanded you to get rich.
He has never bidden you to
defend your character.
He has not set you at work
to contradict falsehoods about yourself,
which Satan and his servants may start to peddle.
If you do those things, you will do nothing else.
You will be at work for yourself and not the Lord.
Let your aim be as steady as a star.
Keep about your work!
You may be assaulted, wronged,
insulted, slandered, wounded, and rejected;
You may be abused by foes, forsaken by friends,
and despised and rejected of men.
But see to it with steadfast determination,
with unfaltering zeal,
That you pursue the great purpose of your life
and object of your being until at last you can say:
“I have finished the work which you gave me to do!”
We are not promised that this life will be easy, but we are promised “a future and a hope,” which will be to live with Christ in glory for eternity. We may be rescued; we may be martyred, but if we are surrendered, we will see our Savior face to face.
Call to Action
What about your goals? Will you carry out the plan God has for you, no matter the challenges? Will you do the work as God leads you to do before the night comes and we can no longer lead precious people to their Savior?
- New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
- Ellen G. White, Letters and Manuscripts, vol. 19 (Silver Spring, Maryland: Ellen G. White Estate, 1904), paragraph 17.
