Today is Harry Houdini’s birthday.

Harry Houdini, one of the world’s most famous escape artists, was born this day in 1874. Houdini, whose real name was Ehrich Weiss<cq>, built his career on the notion that he could escape from anything.

Houdini became most famous for his escapes from handcuffs. During his career, the handcuffed Houdini escaped from sunken packing crates, an enormous paper bag (without tearing the paper), padded cells, coffins, a roll-top desk, burglar-proof safes, a preserved giant squid (yuck!), a giant football, a diving suit, a U.S. mail pouch, and a plate glass box.

While acts like Houdini’s amaze us and leave us thinking, “How did he do that?” these feats of trickery pale in comparison to the great escapes in the Bible. Remember Paul and Silas? While in Philippi, the pair was arrested, beaten, and thrown into the dungeon of the prison. And since the jailer was ordered not to let the Paul and Silas escape, he further clamped their feet into leg stocks, a type of “feet-cuffs.” Get the picture?

Yet, in the middle of the night, as Paul and Silas were singing hymns of praises to God, an earthquake shook the prison. The prison doors flew open. The chains of every prisoner fell off! But Paul and Silas remained in the jail. And because they stayed, the jailer wanted to know all about the God that they worshipped. That very night, the jailer and his entire family were saved.

Paul and Silas didn’t have to rely on sleight-of-hand or illusions. Instead they relied on God. And we can too. When we focus on God, rather than our own problems, he is able to perform amazing acts right before our eyes.

His great works are too marvelous to understand. He performs miracles without number (Job 9:10).

To Do

Do you have a favorite card trick? Perform one for a friend or family member. Then tell them who performs the most amazing acts and miracles.

Also on this day . . .

1882—Professor Robert Koch announced the discovery of the tuberculosis germ—in Berlin, Germany.

1898—The first automobile was sold.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.