Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Luke 22:31-34 And the Lord said ... "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."
MOMENTOUS WORDS TO PETER (CONTINUED)
When we are tempted to sin, we may rely upon the Lord's Promise to us given through the Apostle Paul: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
The Lord Jesus promises that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear--with HIS HELP and by HIS STRENGTH, NOT OUR OWN. He promises that He will also provide a way of escape from temptation. Do not look to yourself for strength to overcome temptation, look to Christ.
There was hope for Peter and the disciples. In fact, Jesus foretold that Peter's faith would be restored, and He even put in place a recovery plan for all the disciples, telling Simon: " ... when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
Why tell Peter? Because He was in many ways the leader of the disciples. He was also the one who would fall the hardest, and would be best equipped to help his fellow believers having endured the hot fire of trial.
God also equips us through trial and trouble to help others. He doesn't ask us to face such things alone, but surrounds us with fellow believers to help and strengthen and console. I'm not talking about learning from experience. Rather, God consoles us by His Word and through that Word also equips us to comfort others. So it is written: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
