Silence and Stillness before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading
On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” “No!” Peter declared emphatically. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the others vowed the same.
Devotional
Interspersed between the accounts of Jesus’ trial is the painful account of Peter’s denial. Peter had pledged his loyalty to Jesus with his life. We cannot question his authenticity but Peter was unknowingly deceived about himself. His illusion was not that he loved Jesus but that he thought he loved Jesus more than his own life. And when the cock actually crowed he actually became aware of his actual shortcomings.
We prefer our self-revelations to be less dramatic and less drastic. There is more weakness in us than we can see, and there is more weakness in us than Jesus chooses to reveal to us. Frankly, we could not handle seeing everything Jesus sees. Nevertheless, God allows us to go through these “earth-shattering” experiences sometimes, like Peter, to prepare us for His purposes, just as Peter was being prepared for a very important task, launching the Church Age.
Question to consider
While trusting in God in all things is a noble aspiration, do I err in expressing too much self-confidence in my faith like Peter did? Is such a mistake even possible?
Prayer
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. [Psalm 139:23-24]
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
The 40 days of decrease blogs have been inspired by the book “40 Days of Decrease” by Alicia Britt Chole.
Expressions from Summerside Community Church 