Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mark 14:37,38
One of the things that really upsets me is where someone doesn’t keep their promise. Now, I’m not talking about a promise like they will pray for me, although that’s a very important commitment. No, I’m talking about that they will call me. Do something. Accomplish some tasks by a certain date.
Perhaps this is my old project manager training coming out. But if someone says that they are going to do something by a certain date, I’m foolish enough to believe them. I didn’t pressure them pick that date. They volunteered the date that the work would be done. When I ask for a date, I just want to know so I can get the next people in line to start the next task.
Most people quickly and effortlessly say that they can complete their task by a certain date. They assure me that it’s no problem. They swear on a stack of Bibles that they can absolutely, positively, with no shadow-of-a-doubt, do it in the time they’ve said
And then comes the great disappointment. They miss the date. They gave their word that they would not fail. And what do they do? They fail.
Peter jumped up and down, promising his life and loyalty to Jesus. I’ll die for you Jesus. No matter what Jesus, I’m your wingman. I’ve got your back. I’m on your team.
And what happens? How’s Peter’s promise tested? Does he have to perform some great task? Achieve something hard? How is he put to the test?
All he has to do is stay awake. That’s it. Doesn’t sound all that hard. There are no guns, no spears, no angry mob yelling and threatening. All he has to do is stay awake.
And he can’t even do this. This small thing. This minor minimal task. He washes out. He fails. He can’t complete his assignment.
And like all modern, sophisticated, well-educated people, we want to dump on Peter. What’s the matter with him? Doesn’t he know what’s going to happen? Doesn’t he understand what’s at stake? Why doesn’t he just man-up and do the right thing?
And if we’re honest, we’ve asked the same thing about ourselves. Why did I fail? Why did I do that? Why didn’t I do the right thing? Why didn’t I do something different? Why did I fail the one I love?
And like Jesus said to Peter, he says to us. Our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. We have the desire to do good, but we just can’t seem to pull it off. We can’t get over the hump and do the right thing. For all the right reasons.
But before we started looking at ourselves, we probably looked at blaming someone else. And that usually starts with God. God, why did you let that happen? Why didn’t you stop it? Why didn’t you prevent it? What’s wrong with you? I thought you were good and all powerful. What happened?
Well, let me assure you that God is good and all powerful. He’s absolutely in control of everyone and everything. There’s a reasons he lets these bad things. These bad situations that happen are for. But are you ready for it? God has two great promises about everything that happens.
It’s for his glory and our good.
That’s right. God is so powerful, so good, so almighty that he can take the awful things, the terrible things, the horrible things of this life and turn them into something good. Something wonderful.
Something beautiful, something good All my confusion He understood All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife But he made something beautiful of my life[1]
Yes he can. But it might not be in the way I thought. Or in the time that I wanted. It might be in an entirely different way. In a time that I didn’t expect.
Peter’s going to be tested. Peter’s going to go through fiery trials. And Peter’s going to not just fail, but fail in a giant, colossal way. He’s going to do the exact thing that he swears that he will never ever do.
He’s going to do exactly what Jesus predicted. And yet, Jesus is going to receive and forgive Peter. He’s going to do the exact opposite of what we’d do when we’ve predicted someone’s failure. We hold it over their head and throw revengeful guilt all over them.
But not our God. Not Jesus. That’s the kind of God we worship. The kind of God who loves us. He’s the kind of God who’s kind to us. The kind of God who dies for us. The kind of God who comes back from the dead for us. He made his promise and he delivered. He delivered himself. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
[1] Something Beautiful, Written by Gloria and Bill Gaither
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