Now I'd just be lying if I suggested that I can really relate to Peter's actual experience, but I do think that we each know a little something about what it is to be imprisoned to something. Peter was imprisoned by Herod, but there are times in each of our lives where we catch ourselves in situations that we continue to do things time after time that are not good for us or for our relationship with God--we are imprisoned by a particular sin or by our circumstances. If you're anything like me, you convince yourself that things are beyond your control and you just get apathetic about the whole situation--we say the situation is just too difficult or God just hasn't given us the strength we need. When we've reached this point, we have lost all hope that we can escape our prison.
In this story, Peter's place of helplessness comes from being chained and surrounded by 16 soldiers--there's no way he could get out. While there are a variety of ways God could have chosen to deliver Peter out of his situation, he did so in a very specific way. Rather than blinding the guards or causing an earthquake, God sent Peter an angel to help get him out of his situation. The angel wakes Peter up in the middle of the night and his first instructions are "Get dressed and follow me." This is the point in the sermon that really pushed me.
I'm convinced that not having all the strength you need to avoid a sin or circumstances does not mean you have no responsibility. If Peter had not followed the instructions of the angel, or even hesitated in putting on his shoes, it's quite possible he would have missed the opportunity to escape his prison. Assuming God does desire to help us escape our prisons as well, I can't help but wonder what putting on my sandals might look like.
""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.” -Acts 12:8-10
