Knowing The Struggle!

Of all the Apostles, Peter is one of my favorites. [Please notice I said “one of”. I also have a great fondness for especially Andrew (Peter’s brother) who quietly connected with others ( John 1:40-42; 6:8-9; 12:20-22), the spark of conviction of James and John ( Luke 9:53-54) whom Jesus gave the name “Sons of Thunder” ( Mark 3:17), and Thomas who should not be remembered for his doubting, but more for his willingness to put his life on the line with Jesus. (note John 11:16)] Glimpsing Peter’s life through the Gospels and into the book of Acts we know he had his struggles. However, Peter was driven by a marvelous spirit and a powerful love for the Lord.

With Jesus having come to establish His Kingdom, Peter just could not imagine His Lord being put to death. He even took Jesus aside and told Him it wasn’t going to happen. ( Matthew 16:22) Peter was also driven by a great desire to stand by His Lord all the way, stating his willingness to defend Him to the death. ( Matthew 26:33-35; John 13:37) And Peter did draw a sword. ( John 18:10) However, as Jesus had predicted, he did later deny the Lord three times.

Prior to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, Peter, James and John accompanied Jesus as He went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. After Jesus went away the first of the three times He prayed, He came and found the disciples sleeping rather than watching.

To Peter Jesus said…
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. THE SPIRIT INDEED IS WILLING, BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK.” ( Matthew 26:41 ESV)

Jesus knew Peter and the struggle he would face. Peter was WELL INTENTIONED. He was SINCERE IN HIS DESIRE to stand unwaveringly behind Jesus. He had a very WILLING SPIRIT, but the flesh was not quite so strong. Do we know the struggle? Have we not also at times found our SPIRIT WAS WILLING, but we caved in when the going got tough, revealing we were not quite as strong as we thought we were? To know the struggle should serve to keep us humble (not having too high an estimation of our own abilities) and to encourage the placing of our reliance on God’s strength and wisdom.

The Apostle Peter did continue to grow and God used him in powerful ways. Peter developed a boldness in ministry that was unstoppable. (i.e. Acts 4:19-20; 5:42) He just had to learn to look beyond himself and so must we. May we therefore maintain a SPIRIT OF WILLINGNESS to serve the Lord’s purposes while we look to Him for the strength to sustain our faith and actions regardless of what we might face.

Have a great day KNOWING WE DON’T STAND ALONE!
Carl

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