Most people would think that Harry Potter was the first one to wear the Invisibility Cloak. The truth is... He's not! It wasn't even his dad, James Potter. And even if J.K. Rowling may have been the first one to give a name for it, she's still not the first to actually experience it's significance and power. That's because...Invisibility Cloaks are real and not just a Hogwarts-thingy-fictional thing. It is written in history. Long before J.K. Rowling was born.
2000 years ago, a faithful apostle was imprisoned for spreading the Good News about Jesus. He was locked in a cell. But even in this time of trial, he remained steadfast in faith. That apostle was Peter. God showed his mercy and power on that very challenging time of his life.
In Acts 12:7-8, an angel of the Lord said to Peter,
"Put on your belt and your sandals. Now put on your cloak and follow me."
This verse reminded me of the armor of God from Ephesians 6. It said;
(1) YOUR BELT - is the truth.
(2) YOUR SANDALS - is the zeal.
There are other things mentioned about the armor. However, in Acts, the angel only told Peter to wear belt and the zeal. No shield, sword or even a helmet (they are of course important). Instead, what the angel required him to put on as well was...
(3) YOUR CLOAK. (literally, it's not included in the armor of God OOTD. Maybe because it's invisible.😁joke
It struck me because, if you are to escape a prison and most probably face enemies along the way, you're going to have to use a weapon (in that time, a sword). But No! He was told to wear a cloak. At present times, common sense would tell people that cloaks won't protect you from prison guards trying to stop an honest man escaping. But if a faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains, what more can a greater faith does? So, Peter obeyed. No complaints. No what ifs. No questions asked. What happened next was one of God's amazing miracles. Peter passed by the first guard, second guard and eventually was led out.
" at daybreak, there was a great commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter." -Acts 12:18
No one noticed Peter passing by. No one saw how Peter escaped. And some of the guards were even executed for it. This passage affirmed how faith can really make miracles.
People tend to be imprisoned with the worries of the world. Imprisoned with fear, insecurities, pursuits of approvals and other temporary worldly stuff. Escaping these traps can be very tricky and difficult! We need weapons to fight! Most of the times, the common notion of fighting is being OFFENSIVE and most of the times, we also forget that fighting also means to be DEFENSIVE. Defense is going back to the basics of faith. Knowing and believing the TRUTH, our belt. And along with it is our ZEAL, our sandals which will keep us on the go so that no matter how many battles we have to fight, we have that zeal that keeps us going.
Above all, we rest in the knowledge that God will always protect us, cover us and shelter us. He provides our INVISIBLE CLOAKS. Our protector and deliverer.
