Peter said to Him, Lord, why cannot
I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.
38 Jesus answered, Will you [really] lay down your life for Me?
I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, before a rooster crows, you will deny
Me [completely disown Me] three times.
John 13:37-38
Do not let your
hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and
trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and
trust in and rely also on Me.
John 14: 1
All
of the disciples must have been troubled about Jesus' predictions of betrayal,
denial, and departure. After all, if Peter's commitment was shaky, then every
disciple should be aware of his own weaknesses.
In
the Greek, the pronoun your is plural; therefore, Jesus was speaking to Peter
and to all the other disciples.
Jesus
did not want his followers to imitate Peter's impulsive self-confidence.
Potential weaknesses and possible failures trouble us. So we don't like to
think about them. Peter denied his own frailty and claimed more faith than he
had.
Jesus'
solution for troubled hearts requires us to trust in him. Trust does not mean
pretending we are strong; it means recognizing our weakness and need for God's
help. If we believe for a moment that we can follow Jesus in our own strength,
we will fail as miserably as Peter.
(from
The Life Application Commentary Series Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 by
the Livingstone Corporation. Produced with permission of Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)
I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:
Abba
Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and for the riches of Your grace.
Thank You that You have provided for my weakness by sending the Comforter
(Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), The Holy
Spirit, in Jesus’ name [in Jesus’ place, to represent Him and act on His
behalf], to teach me to trust in You and in Jesus and replace my troubled heart
with Your peace. Lord, I admit my weakness and my need for the help of The Holy
Spirit to comfort me strengthen me and give me wise counsel. God I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son; my Redeemer and
Saviour; the Lord of my life, Jesus Christ. To Jesus be the power,
the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion before all time and now
and forevermore. Amen.
Jesus loves you,
In Him,
Wagdi Henein
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