You started the day out right; you read your Bible, spent some quality time in prayer, rejoiced with gratitude for all that God has done for you, and expressed love and patience towards those in your household. You ended this same day in shame, saddened by the thoughts you indulged in, the words you spoke, and even how you behaved. As you ponder all the ways in which you failed over the course of the day, you wonder how this person is the same one who woke up rejoicing and so in love with the Lord and His commands. As the Apostle Paul wrote:
Romans 7:15, 19, 21, 24 “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
One of the many wonderful things about the Bible is that it provides countless reminders that we are not alone, both in our failures and in our successes. Any sin that we have ever committed, someone else has too- including the men and women depicted in the Bible who faithfully loved and served the Lord. Let us take a look at two examples we read about in the Word regarding the same man of God. First, we see how the Apostle Peter answered a question from Jesus with God-given insight and then the Lord’s prophecy regarding Peter’s importance in the building up of The Church.
Matthew 16:15-19 “He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’.”
A few verses later we read about him reacting in his flesh to insight regarding the cross and the severe admonishment he received in return:
Matthew 16:22-23 “And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man’.”
Our second example describes Peter’s proclamation of unwavering devotion and loyalty to the Lord and then Jesus’ prophecy regarding his impending disloyalty.
Luke 22:31-34 “’Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me’.”
In the following passage, His heartbreaking denial of Jesus is shared with us.
Luke 22:56-62 “Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, ‘This man also was with him.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ And a little later someone else saw him and said, ‘You also are one of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not.’ And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, ‘Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’ And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.”
All of these verses are written about the same man; an Apostle of the Lord, chosen to walk with Jesus during His earthly ministry, destined to become a foundation for the Church after Christ’s ascension. As blessed as he was to be a pivotal person in the Lord’s ministry, he was still a sinner. Regardless of who we are, all believers in Jesus Christ face a multitude of temptations and then succumb to some, every day. Unfortunately, sinning is inevitable, part and parcel of being an imperfect human being; fortunately, God’s mercy is equally inevitable and intrinsic to who and what He is, the perfect and eternal Creator.
Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
God understands our weaknesses and knows that we are going to fail Him and do so often. God loves us, sent His Son to be judged for our sins, and gives us grace upon grace.
Psalm 103:8, 10-14 “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”
Though we surely love Him and no doubt strive to be pleasing to our Lord, we WILL most certainly fall into unrighteousness at times. When we do, we are to pick ourselves up, seek His mercy, repent, and resume walking by faith in His Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
As believers in Christ, we are both devoted servants and wretched sinners- one and the same. In spite of this, we are to keep focused, keep humble, and keep walking- all by means of His love, grace, and mercy. Selah.
Love in Christ,
Monica Ledford