Give God the Glory: Why Faithfulness Can’t Wait for Better Circumstances

Have you heard of Quitters Day? It falls on the second Friday of January—the day when most New Year’s resolutions officially die. Statistics tell us that roughly 80% of resolutions fail by February. We’ve all been there: “I’ll start eating healthier… right after this birthday season ends.” “I’ll get serious about my spiritual disciplines… once things calm down at work.” “I’ll be more intentional about sharing my faith… when I’m in a better season of life.”

There’s a pattern here, isn’t there? We’re waiting. Waiting for circumstances to improve. Waiting for conditions to be just right. Waiting for the perfect moment to finally get more serious about following Jesus.

But what if God never designed His church to wait for favorable circumstances? What if the gospel has always advanced not when things were easy, but when God’s people were faithful regardless of what they faced?

Acts 12 confronts us with this uncomfortable reality. And it reveals something we desperately need to hear at the start of a new year.

When Everything Falls Apart

The opening verse of Acts 12 introduces us to a dark moment: “Now about that time, Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them.” More than a decade has passed since Pentecost. The early church has experienced explosive growth, miraculous signs, and favor with the people. But now the tide has turned.

Verse 2 delivers the news with stunning brevity: “And he had James, the brother of John, put to death with a sword.” One sentence. That’s all Luke gives us about the first apostle to be martyred. Sometimes the Bible’s brevity isn’t meant to minimize importance — it’s meant to make us pause. This is James, one of the inner three disciples who witnessed the Transfiguration. This is James the apostle, protected through so much persecution, now executed.

And then it gets worse. When Herod saw that killing James pleased the Jewish leaders, he arrested Peter too. Remember when the early church enjoyed “favor with all the people”? That season is over. The political winds have shifted. Persecution isn’t just possible. Now, it’s popular.

If there was ever a time for the church to hunker down, regroup, and wait for things to improve, this was it.

The Faithfulness of Fervent Prayer

But here’s what the church actually did: “Peter was kept in prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

Notice what Scripture tells us and what it doesn’t. It tells us they prayed fervently. It doesn’t tell us what they prayed for. That matters, because we often assume they were praying for Peter’s deliverance. Then we judge them when they seem surprised that he shows up at their door later.

But James had just been executed despite their prayers. They knew that sometimes God’s answer is deliverance, and sometimes His answer is the strength to remain faithful unto death. They had seen Stephen die. They had just witnessed James’s martyrdom. They understood that prayer doesn’t always result in the outcome we want.

While we aren’t told what they were praying for, what we do know is who they were praying to. And in a moment of profound uncertainty, instead of strategizing in the flesh or giving in to fear, they gathered and prayed. This is faithfulness. This is what it looks like to trust God when you don’t know how the story ends.

God’s Timing Isn’t Ours

Then comes one of the most dramatic rescue stories in Scripture. On the very night before Herod planned to execute Peter — literally the last possible moment — an angel appears in the cell. Light fills the prison. The angel strikes Peter’s side to wake him (I love that detail), and his chains fall off.

Peter thinks he’s having a vision. He’s so disoriented that he follows the angel past the first guard, past the second guard, through the iron gate that opens by itself, down a whole street before he finally “comes to himself” and realizes: “This is real. God actually delivered me.”

Why did God wait until the last possible minute? I don’t have a perfect answer for that. Maybe it’s to test whether we’ll remain faithful to the end. Maybe it’s to magnify His power when the situation seems most hopeless. What I do know is that God’s timing is often different than our expectations. I also know that He’s always faithful, even when His faithfulness looks different than we anticipated.

Two Men, Two Responses to God’s Power

The contrast in this chapter is striking. We’ve seen Peter before, in Acts 3, deflecting glory after performing a miracle. When people stared at him in amazement, he immediately redirected their attention: “Why are you looking at us as if we did this? This is God’s power, not ours.”

Now we meet Herod, dressed in glittering silver robes, giving a public address. The crowd cries out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” They’re offering him worship. And Herod? He receives it. He doesn’t correct them. He doesn’t deflect. He takes glory that belongs to God alone.

The response is swift and severe: “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.” The judgment took eight days to fully manifest, but make no mistake — the moment Herod stole God’s glory, divine judgment was set in motion.

This isn’t just ancient history. Every time we take credit for what only God could do, we’re walking in Herod’s footsteps. When someone calls us an “angel” for our kindness and we bask in that praise instead of pointing to Christ — that’s the same temptation. When people admire our church’s kindness but never hear about Jesus, we’ve missed the point entirely.

There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. If people forget the name of our church but remember the name of Jesus, we’ve succeeded.

But the Word Continued to Grow

Here’s the verse that should stop us in our tracks: “But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.”

Despite James’s execution. Despite Peter’s imprisonment and near-death. Despite persecution mounting. Despite a famine on the horizon. Despite every human reason to pull back and wait for better days — the word of the Lord continued to grow.

This is the pattern throughout Acts. This is the pattern throughout church history. This is the pattern God established from the beginning. The gospel advances, not when circumstances are favorable, but when God’s people are faithful.

They could have said, “This isn’t the season for bold evangelism. Let’s keep our heads down until the persecution passes.” That would have made perfect sense. But they understood something we often forget: Now is always the right time to obey the Lord.

What Does This Mean for Us?

So let me ask you some hard questions as we start this new year:

What are you waiting for before you get serious about following Jesus?

Are you waiting for your schedule to calm down? For your finances to stabilize? For your relationships to improve? For your kids to be a different age? For retirement? What’s your “someday when conditions are better”?

Where are you tempted to take credit for what only God can do?

Maybe it’s not as dramatic as Herod. Maybe it’s just enjoying people’s admiration a little too much. Maybe it’s highlighting your role in that ministry success without mentioning Christ. Maybe it’s your social media presence that showcases your good deeds but stays silent about your Savior.

Are you living for comfort or for God’s glory?

When you face difficulty — in your personal life, in your church, in your circumstances — is your first instinct to hunker down and wait it out? Or is it to ask, “How can I remain faithful to God right now, in this moment, regardless of how uncomfortable it is?”

If God never makes your life easier, will you still follow Him faithfully?

Because here’s the truth: Peter was delivered, but James was martyred. Both were faithful. Both brought God glory. And we’re not promised that faithfulness will always result in earthly deliverance. But we are promised that faithfulness always matters, always honors God, and always advances His kingdom.

Now Is the Time

Friends, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail within a month. But the early church’s resolution to live for God’s glory has been going strong for two thousand years. Not because we’ve had perfect circumstances. Not because persecution ended. Not because life got easier.

The church at large has remained faithful because now is always the right time to obey the Lord.

You don’t need to wait for everything to be perfect. You don’t need to wait for life to calm down. You don’t need to wait for a better season. The church in Acts 12 faced far worse circumstances than most of us will ever encounter, and they understood: our very existence is to live for the praise and glory of God.

So whether you’re delivered like Peter or called to lay down your life like James, whether this year brings blessing or hardship, whether people praise you or persecute you – give God the glory. Live for His honor. Proclaim His name. And trust that He is faithful, even when His faithfulness looks different than you expected.

Because when God’s people are faithful — regardless of their circumstances — the word of the Lord continues to grow and to be multiplied.

Listen to the full sermon here: Give God the Glory – Acts 12

Preached January 4, 2026, at Howell Bible Church