January 4, 2016
"Lord," Peter asked, "Why can't I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You!" (John 13:37)
Impulsive Peter had a big feeling inside. Jesus was going away, and he wanted to follow Him wherever He might go. But Jesus had just said, "Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow Me later." Doubt crept into Peter's heart as he questioned why he could not follow right now. His own impatience with Jesus' plan caused Peter to questioned Jesus' timing, and he continued to press Jesus for an answer by declaring what he would do for Him.
It is always my default to look at how bold, headstrong and brash Peter was. His feelings always seem to flow into overly zealous words and actions. It is easy to see Peter's pride and arrogance even though I can clearly see his great love for Jesus as well. What is not so easy to see is how often I am guilty of the same kind of responses.
Big emotions drove Peter to be rash. They catapulted him into actions that were not within the call of Jesus. Here, he said that he would become a martyr for Jesus, and while that became reality, Jesus knew that Peter would be pressed long before that day. Jesus knew that when He was being led away to trial, Peter would not die for Him, but instead would deny Him, not once but three times in a row! Jesus also knew that Peter would surely become a great follower, but not before doubt, depression and great sorrow would be his path. Peter's natural and fleshly devotion to Jesus, would never make him a disciple. Neither will it make me one. To be a disciple, one must simply trust and obey all that Jesus says, not questioning anything at all.
I, too, have been so guilty of feeling something is distinctly in God's will for me, and have made that feeling what drives my decision. I have turned my eyes from His timeline and have jumped in, only to discover that there will be great trials and difficulties now because I have been impetuous. My forecast and timing will never be perfect, and never based on my great omniscience. That must be left to the God who knows everything. To question His always-perfect timing is to have a seed of doubt in the plan. If I am doubting, then I should never move forward until God says go! To do otherwise is to open a door to disaster that may take the rest of my life to correct. "When in doubt of the providential will of God, wait for God to move." (Oswald Chambers) It must always be God's plan that I follow, not my reinvented idea of His will and command.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, so often You are not LORD of all I do. Even when You are so specific, I tend to "readjust" what You have just clearly said. I confess my impetuousness and my arrogant pridefulness to You. I agree that I am doing this wrong, and can see that becoming Your disciple will take much longer going on my path than it will on Yours. Teach me, show me, guide me, HELP me! I long to lay all of my life down for You, but I keep trying to do that in MY way. I humble myself in Your presence and wait for You today!
"Lord," Peter asked, "Why can't I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You!" (John 13:37)
Impulsive Peter had a big feeling inside. Jesus was going away, and he wanted to follow Him wherever He might go. But Jesus had just said, "Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow Me later." Doubt crept into Peter's heart as he questioned why he could not follow right now. His own impatience with Jesus' plan caused Peter to questioned Jesus' timing, and he continued to press Jesus for an answer by declaring what he would do for Him.
It is always my default to look at how bold, headstrong and brash Peter was. His feelings always seem to flow into overly zealous words and actions. It is easy to see Peter's pride and arrogance even though I can clearly see his great love for Jesus as well. What is not so easy to see is how often I am guilty of the same kind of responses.
Big emotions drove Peter to be rash. They catapulted him into actions that were not within the call of Jesus. Here, he said that he would become a martyr for Jesus, and while that became reality, Jesus knew that Peter would be pressed long before that day. Jesus knew that when He was being led away to trial, Peter would not die for Him, but instead would deny Him, not once but three times in a row! Jesus also knew that Peter would surely become a great follower, but not before doubt, depression and great sorrow would be his path. Peter's natural and fleshly devotion to Jesus, would never make him a disciple. Neither will it make me one. To be a disciple, one must simply trust and obey all that Jesus says, not questioning anything at all.
I, too, have been so guilty of feeling something is distinctly in God's will for me, and have made that feeling what drives my decision. I have turned my eyes from His timeline and have jumped in, only to discover that there will be great trials and difficulties now because I have been impetuous. My forecast and timing will never be perfect, and never based on my great omniscience. That must be left to the God who knows everything. To question His always-perfect timing is to have a seed of doubt in the plan. If I am doubting, then I should never move forward until God says go! To do otherwise is to open a door to disaster that may take the rest of my life to correct. "When in doubt of the providential will of God, wait for God to move." (Oswald Chambers) It must always be God's plan that I follow, not my reinvented idea of His will and command.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, so often You are not LORD of all I do. Even when You are so specific, I tend to "readjust" what You have just clearly said. I confess my impetuousness and my arrogant pridefulness to You. I agree that I am doing this wrong, and can see that becoming Your disciple will take much longer going on my path than it will on Yours. Teach me, show me, guide me, HELP me! I long to lay all of my life down for You, but I keep trying to do that in MY way. I humble myself in Your presence and wait for You today!
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