| Devotional Hours with the Bible |
Chapter 14 |
Page 5 |
Peter did not understand at first who the friend was that was taking him out. They he said, “Now I know of a truth, that the Lord hath sent forth his angel and delivered me.” It is not till they are gone that we recognize the angels. While they are with us we do not know them. This is true of many of the blessings God sends us. We do not prize the worth of our best human friends till they have left us. Our very familiarity with them hides from our eyes the excellencies of their character and the value of their helpfulness. They grow up alongside of us and grow into our lives so gradually and unconsciously that we do not know how much they are to us, how we lean upon them, how many doors they open for us, how their love brightens our paths. Suddenly they vanish, and then we see that they are God’s angels. Their plain garb at once appears radiant with glory as they withdraw. A vacant chair is ofttimes the first true revealer of the worth of one whose presence and love have blessed us for years.
Peter came to the house of Mary the mother of Mark. In answer to his knock, “a maid came to answer, named Rhoda.” We ought to get a lesson or two for our young girls from this little maidservant. Her work was lowly — only attending the door, but she had her reward that night. She was the first to know of Peter’s release. She seems to be the only one who had faith enough to recognize that it was Peter. Her great gladness shows us that she loved Peter, and no doubt had been praying for his deliverance. There is one thing that every girl should learn of Rhoda — not to let her joy run away with her wits. A sensible girl would have opened the door as soon as she recognized Peter’s voice; but she was so happy that she ran off to tell the good news, and left the apostle standing outside shivering in the cold. We should never in our happiness forget the practical duties of the moment.
This maid, Rhoda, waited not to greet Peter, but ran in and told that Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, “Thou art mad.” They had been praying for Peter’s release or deliverance from the power of Herod. Now the answer to their prayer stood before the gate, knocking for admission, and they could not be convinced that it was their friend. That is often the way it is with all of us. When the answer comes to our prayers — the very things for which we have been praying — we are surprised, and cannot believe that they have really come. No doubt we ofttimes keep the answers to our prayers standing outside our doors and knocking.
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