God’s Protection Through People
But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.
Acts 23:16 (NIV)
To get Paul from Jerusalem to Rome, God uses a plot orchestrated by 40 men who were so committed to killing Paul that they refused to eat or drink, having sworn an oath that they would not do either until they had successfully accomplished the deed. Their trap is simple. They wanted Paul brought out of the barracks so they could ambush him on the way to court and kill him.
This text conveys a clear message for us as we navigate life amidst the reality of traps that are always being laid for us: God’s providence always includes God’s protection. Who He saves, He protects.
What is striking is how that protection shows up. It does not appear as an angel with a flaming sword. It comes through a young man whose name we are never told. This young man is Paul’s nephew, and his existence is not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, but he becomes an instant hero with one wise decision. After overhearing the plot to kill Paul, he moved quickly, and his actions saved Paul’s life.
From that, we learn an important principle: The power of God in our lives to bless us often comes through human agency. God intervenes in many ways, and one of those ways is through other people. There are people in your life who may not have been your choice, but they are God’s assignment. God uses these people to advance our lives and to keep us in the center of His will.
God works through everyday people, and I encourage you to treat them with the gratitude that they deserve. Maybe it was a praying grandparent, a parent who didn’t give up, a teacher who believed in you when you did not believe in yourself, a friend who called at the right time. I’m so glad somebody had me on their mind enough to take the time to pray for me.
Do not dismiss the “ordinary” people around you. No relationship in your life is accidental. God’s protection can often come wearing a familiar face. Don’t overlook the fact that the people who may seem common in your life might be on divine assignment.
Thank God today for the unseen protection that has come through human hands, human counsel, and human care. You did not make it here by yourself. God has been protecting you through people all along.
He Will Supply
After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Matthew 17:24-27 (NIV)
When the tax collectors questioned Peter about paying taxes, Jesus chose to reveal His provision in an unforgettable way.
“Peter, go down to the water’s edge and grab the first fish you can. And in that fish’s mouth is going to be a coin he swallowed but couldn’t digest.” It must’ve been a coin lost by someone who never would’ve been able to retrieve it.
Miraculously, Peter goes to the water’s edge, tosses in his line, grabs that fish, and sure enough, in its mouth is a coin worth enough to satisfy both what he and Jesus would owe to pay the temple tax.
There it is, the provision of God, exactly when and where it was needed. Not too soon, not too late. Not in the way Peter expected, but in the way God ordained. I love this miracle. I love even more its meaning: Jesus will supply what you need when you need it, and he’ll do it in ways that you and I could never imagine.
Philippians 4:19 reminds us that “God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
So when you face the pressure of need—whether financial, emotional, relational, or spiritual—remember this moment. Remember the coin in the mouth of the fish. Remember that Jesus not only reigns as King, but He also stoops to care for His people as Provider.
The Power to Deliver
Joseph went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
Luke 2:5-7 (NIV)
God wants you to deliver, even if in inconvenience. Don’t you ever accept the lie that suggests otherwise.
- You can be great for God in spite of mounting pressure and weighted responsibilities.
- You can produce for the Kingdom.
- Even if you start with a deficit, you can juggle a busy schedule.
- You can raise kids alone if you have to.
- You can walk with a limp and still live with power.
- You can grow in barren places.
- You can be loving in hostile environments.
- You can demonstrate the strength of faith.
Even if ou are standing in demonic strongholds and everybody is telling you that your journey is too long or that your journey is too hard or that your journey is too threatening, you ought to be able to say, “You know what? You might be right if all you are assessing are the facts, but I don’t live just by facts. I live by faith. And faith suggests that I’ve got to make the trip. And if I have to make the trip, if I have to show up, if I have to be great, if I have to exercise gifts, then I’ve got to be ready to deliver.”
If God could give Mary the power to deliver against the backdrop of all of this threat and inconvenience, God can give us the power to do the same. You can turn any setting into a place for Christ to emerge. He can be born, revealed, and shared in any setting, any situation, any circumstance.
A pregnant woman, ready to deliver, walked 90 miles against a politically corrupt census when she was ready to push her baby out. She arrived there and delivered, deciding to be great for God. Why? Because she was full of Christ. She could deliver because she was full.
What is it she had to deliver? She had to deliver Jesus Christ. And in many ways, when Christ dwells in us, when we have Christ inside of us, and we are full of the hope of glory, we can be ready to deliver for God as well.
From the Beginning
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:8-12 (NIV)
The angel’s message was one of great joy. It was a proclamation that would resonate throughout the ages: for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. That one verse alone envelops the essence of our Christian faith. It is the sum total of our spiritual hope. It signals the fulfillment of ancient prophecies. It is the dawn of redemption. It’s the promise of God’s boundless love for us.
In this one simple verse, we find the very heart of the Christian message: that in the humble birth of a child, the world received its long-awaited Savior, the Messiah, the Anointed One who would bring light to the darkness and who would bring salvation to any and all who believe. As you focus your thinking on the angelic visitation to these shepherds and the profound significance of the message they received, it invites us to open our hearts to the transforming power of this one night’s dramatic angelic visitation.
Notice again who God reveals Jesus’s birth to. He reveals Jesus’s birth to shepherds. Not a king, not a prince, not an emperor, not a ruler, but shepherds. It’s just as instructive who He didn’t first reveal Jesus’s birth to as it is instructive who he decided to reveal the birth of Christ to, long before Jesus would even articulate His mission. God revealed His divine will, disclosing the gift He was giving, the kinds of people who are included in it, who He is blessing, where He is going to determine to rest His favor, and how He will more prominently be seen in the world.
Shepherds were at the bottom of the food chain as members of that society, lowly marginalized members of the culture. They were almost the forgotten. Their very occupation relegated them to the fringes of society, socially isolated and economically precarious. Shepherds were constantly exposed to the things their flocks were exposed to, and that often made them ceremonially and ritually impure and unclean. Many thought of them as a more criminal class, untrustworthy, viewed as rough and rugged and dangerous. It’s so powerful that God decides to reveal His character, His reach, and His intentionality at the very beginning of Jesus’s earthly life to these shepherds. The lesson is clear: God is willing to favor everybody. And there is nothing you can do to status yourself into a better life with God.
Trusting the Process
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
James 1:4
We celebrate God’s promises. We rejoice in His power. But oftentimes, we struggle with His process.
God’s process often feels uncomfortable. It stretches us, makes us wait longer than we wish, or pushes us to endure seasons that feel confusing or unnecessary. Yet it is in the process that our faith is strengthened and our dependence on Him deepens. Trusting God’s process can often feel like navigating a wilderness. But it’s in that very process that we find our true selves and our deepest connections with our sovereign God.
A little girl crawled up into her father’s lap. He was sitting in his easy chair, reading his daily paper. She climbed up in his lap, looked in his eyes, and told him how much she wanted him to build her a dollhouse. She didn’t climb down until Daddy had promised to build her a dollhouse. And although he was somewhat distracted, he agreed, mostly because he just wanted her to get off his lap so that he could keep reading his newspaper.
The father soon forgot his promise. Days later, though, he walked into her room and was stunned. His daughter had packed up all her dolls and doll furniture. She had set them to the side in anticipation of the move to their new dollhouse.
When he asked why she was preparing so soon, her answer cut him to the heart: She said, “Because I know you’re going to be building my dolls our dollhouse. And even though it hasn’t yet begun, I packed them up because you always keep your promises.”
That is the kind of faith God calls us to in the middle of His process. The promise hasn’t materialized. The construction hasn’t even started. Yet we prepare because we know the character of the One who made the promise. We trust not only the end but also the steps that lead there.
This is why we can live with anticipation instead of anxiety, even in seasons of waiting. God may not move at the pace we prefer. He may take us through detours, delays, or deserts. But every step is part of a larger design. My uncertainty, my ambiguity, my lack of confidence, my fear of missing, the struggle of human comparison—all of these are swallowed up when I learn to trust God’s process.
