Matthew 26:26-46; Deuteronomy 1-2; Job 4
Was Peter’s experience intended to humble him? To show that a person should not be too confident in them self? To demonstrate that humans aren’t perfect? Whatever the reason, Peter had high hopes for himself, he had bold statements to present to Jesus. But the truth is, Jesus knew his heart, knew what trials lay ahead, and understood that Peter was not perfect. I know that I feel good about myself for never having doubted my faith. However, I’m still young. There is a lot of life ahead of me with significant trials and despite my ability to believe, I may face times where it is hard to have faith. Maybe you've been through, or are going through, difficult times in your life and faith. Peter, the rock on which the church was built, denied knowing Jesus. He was weak in that moment, too bold in his professions, and yet, God used him mightily. Trust in God's power to work in your life through your trials.
God gave the Israelites the promised land, but in the scripture he says “Now you must go and take the land.” It wasn’t an easy walk into it, they had to have faith as they moved forward. The same is true today. God may provide blessings, but we cannot sit on our couches and wait for him to hand them to us. We have to live life, move forward, make mistakes, trust. The Israelites lacked faith in God and his plans because they sent out people ahead to investigate. Those explorers told them that it was difficult, perhaps impossible, to do what they had planned on doing, and so they gave up. Instead of trusting in the Lord, who had done some incredible miracles in their lifetime, they sat back and grumbled in despair. What is interesting about this particular story is that they eventually “obeyed.” They went into the hill country in an attempt to take it over, but delayed obedience is perhaps actually disobedience. I’ll try to make sure my heart and soul understands that one!
The verse that says “no matter who shows up in your court…” reminds me of my teaching job. The truth is, I have a lot of diverse students that show up. Some are well mannered, focused, and motivated, while others are obnoxious, disrespectful, and apathetic. It is sometimes a challenge to manage the kids. But, God has always been there with me, helping me to make good decisions, even though I often have no idea what I’m doing. When I have made mistakes, he has helped me to move on and learn, and for that I am thankful. I pray that you, too, invite God into your work place, trusting in him to help you make decisions. God wants to go to work with us!
Job’s friend believes in a faulty doctrine: that my circumstances are a direct result of sin and are a punishment from God. The reality is, that is not true. Life is going to be hard, even for the good people. The Psalmists say this several times: why do the wicked prosper and I face darkness? Just because bad stuff happens to people does not mean they are getting punished. Life is just sometimes difficult. Now that isn’t to say that the consequences of action do not follow a person, because they certainly do. If a person sins, let’s say they treat their parents terribly and are hateful, sometime down the road their parents may refuse to help them in a situation and then life becomes tough for them. The point that Job’s friend Eliphaz is making is that God is causing you to suffer, but in reality we cannot blame God for our circumstances.
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