Yes, This Matters • Daily Devo #340
Free Weekend Devotional • Word Count: 1,684
Today’s Devotional Scripture: 11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14 And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. - Acts 12:11-17 KJV
The Message For Today (October 18, 2025):
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We live in a world that easily tells us that the things that we do day in and day out aren’t important unless someone else is celebrating. They aren’t important unless someone else believes they are. They’re not important if you’re not doing it for the world to see. It’s not important if it’s a small thing that doesn’t receive accolades and doesn’t receive money and doesn’t receive prestige.
The world has convinced us that we must do and be more that we may somehow be significant. Here, in this scripture, Rhoda shows us the truth. Rhoda is a damsel in the scripture. She is not explained as anything else. She is not the owner of the home; Mary is. She is essentially just a random woman that happened to hear. She is a woman that happened to know that what she was hearing was answered prayer.
Those inside the home in Acts 12 were praying. They were praying for him to be out of prison. They were praying for a miracle because they knew that in the morning, Peter was scheduled for execution. He was scheduled for his life to end, so they were praying, earnestly praying, in this home for Peter’s deliverance. The angel of the Lord goes into the jail in this chapter and frees Peter from his chains. He frees Peter of the deep, deep imprisonment that is assigned to him, because, of course, they knew that the Lord had a way of coming through for his disciples.
So Peter comes out of the gate, and when Peter comes out of the gate he realizes and comes to himself in verse 11 and says, Now I know that God sent an angel for me. We see that “Now I know of a surety that the Lord had sent his angel.” He immediately goes to Mary’s home after making this realization that he wasn’t dreaming. This really was happening, and when Rhoda hears, she doesn’t even answer.
She didn’t open the gate. She immediately runs to those who are praying and says to them: It’s Peter at the door. She is telling them that she hears that their prayer is answered, and they say: No, you’re crazy. That’s not real. How powerful is it that someone who hears and sees that the prayer is answered is ignored and called mad because they believe she just must be imagining things?
But, she “constantly affirmed”. Those two words show us that she was convinced. She didn’t just think. She knew and said, “This is Peter at the door,” and Peter kept knocking. This entire passage of scripture shows us that what we may feel may be the most simple thing is often the most profound in the kingdom of heaven. This young woman is just a random young woman, a damsel, that heard.
She’s a woman that heard, and she’s a woman that shared what she heard and she’s a woman that affirmed constantly what she heard. This small thing may seem like it doesn’t matter, but she was telling them that their prayer was answered and that Peter was here. And it mattered that she saw. It mattered that she believed. It mattered that she constantly affirmed. Someone may say, “Oh, she just simply heard Peter, not a big deal”, but this is not a light thing. Nothing in scripture is.
When she says, “It’s Peter,” and they don’t believe her, at that point, she can decide to doubt herself. She can decide that it’s not worth it to keep trying to convince them. She can decide to go answer the door herself. But she is adamant. She is on her rock. She is standing on that truth. “I heard the answer at the door. I heard Peter.” This matters as the world is saying Rhoda doesn’t matter. Rhoda’s just some girl in a house; she’s not as important as those who are leading the prayer.
She’s not as important as the disciples. Why is it important that she heard the door? It was important enough that her name is in the book. Her name is in scripture. It is codified in His holy word that Rhoda heard Peter. This is not a light thing. Rhoda hears, and she believes, and regardless of what anyone else there thinks, she is telling the truth.
When you look at your life and you wonder whether or not what you do matters, when you wonder if it’s worth it to keep pressing, when you feel that it’s too late and that you’re too far behind, and when you consider giving up and maybe trying again in the future, all you’re doing is doing what the world expects. The world expects you to give up when it’s not easy.
The world expects you to give up when no one believes you. The world expects that, that small thing that you do inside your home as a stay-at-home mom, or that small thing you do when you go and pray for the elderly, that small thing you do as you go and feed the hungry… they say it doesn’t matter. That your time is better spent in worthy accolades and innovation, and doing and being amazing.
God says no. This matters. This small thing that He’s given you, this small assignment, this overlooked thing that maybe no one else is doing, this matters. This work. This thing that God has called you to. It matters. And the moment you stop believing it matters, you allow the enemy to have victory over your God-given assignment, over your gifts, over people seeing and hearing: “Wait, wait, wait, wait, she was right. This was God”.
You rob from others, the ability to see the truth of how that small thing that you were called to do was so important to God, was so essential to breakthrough. You rob the world of seeing the truth of God in the little things. You rob the world of seeing the magic of God in the small moments that people think don’t matter, and they think is irrelevant. But we know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. Romans 8:28 is clear.
Everything works, even Rhoda hearing, works enough that it made it in the book. It made it in the Bible. It’s important. What you do matters. It’s not a small thing, this thing that you love doing that no one else considers important. This is your kingdom assignment, and it may just be the thing that the world is looking for. But, you’ll never know that if you quit, if you become conformed to the pattern of this world, and if you stop believing in the power of God.
Don’t quit, don’t stop, and keep believing that what you’re doing matters. That small thing you do that the world has devalued, God may consider that the most prized position on earth for you.
Closing Devotional Prayer
My prayer for you: Father, in the name of Jesus, thank you, God, for covering the mighty woman of God. Thank you, God, for the grace and the glory. Thank you, God, for reminding us that what we do matters. The attention to detail, the still small voice, the things that the world has begun to undervalue; those things still matter.
Our presence matters. Our gifts matter. That little thing that we don’t know why we are so obsessed with getting it done, but we believe that God has called us to do it. He’s called us to sweep the sanctuary. He’s called us to feed the hungry. He’s called us to pray for the businesses in the community. He’s called us to be home with a child and to raise that child up in the ways of the Lord.
It matters. Your work, thank you God, matters. The assignment that you give to the mighty woman of God, it matters. Thank you, God, for reminding us that you’re no respecter of persons. That you love us all and have called us all into our purposes, God. Thank you, Lord God, that we’ll no longer be hungry for excellence and acceptance and being seen as important, and that we’ll be hungry, oh God, for being essential in your kingdom.
For being a piece of the story that cannot be denied. I thank you, Lord God, that the mighty woman of God is going to see it. She’s going to take pride in it and, Lord God, she’s going to be encouraged in it that you are her God. That you’re walking with her and that her work, her life, and the still small things she does matter. I thank you, Lord, and I pray in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
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