Friday, July 6th> Matthew 16: 13-23
What is the danger of being too familiar with God's will? How is it possible to be in the presence of the greatest Man in history and be clueless concerning the things of His heart? When I read this passage, I couldn't help questioning how devoted to God Peter really was. Not too long before, Jesus had given him quite a compliment -- called him a ROCK -- the whole church would be built on the revelation he'd received from the Father!
But only a few verses later, Jesus pulls him aside, confident that he's ready to receive even more revelation. He begins to prepare Peter for what He must walk through. But all of a sudden, Peter starts rebuking his Master -- the same one who'd just heard from God Himself! How could this be? Then God reminded me that I've done the same thing. At times, I'm smack dab in the middle of His Will. I'm even so bold as to declare to others what I hear Him say to me. And yet, when the word is not mushy and filled with promises that we'll tiptoe through the tulips, I've turned a deaf ear to the purpose behind those words just like Peter did.
So what's the common denominator? We deliberately miss the Clear print in the sign-up notice God gave us when we enlisted in His army. He didn't hide the fact that we will have to deny ourselves and DIE daily. So we're tempted to only embrace the moments of glory in God's presence, when we're on the mountaintop. But we HAVE to embrace the suffering, too. If we want to truly be used by God in a mighty way, there's no having one without the other. Peter learned this the hard way. I pray we get it a lot sooner.
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