Our Pastor read this scripture last night. Luke 22:31 (KJV), “And the Lord said , Simon, Simon, behold , Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted , strengthen thy brethren.”
After he read this scripture, I began to read on from there. Luke 22:33-34, “And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said , I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.” I started think about how Peter said that he would not deny Jesus but yet before the cock crow he denied Him three times. Then I thought of how Peter must have felt when he heard the cock crow. I am sure he felt extreme guilt and depression tried to move in. But, then he stopped and remember the promise that Jesus gave him. “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and WHEN thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren”. Jesus did not say IF you are converted, but WHEN. With that promise in hand, Peter knew that God had a plan for his life. And that plan included strengthening the brethren.
To bring it to modern day terms, when we lose faith in ourselves because of mistakes or trials, God doesn’t lose faith in us. He still believes in us. He still has a plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Just as Peter reached back and pulled that promise close to his heart, we have promises galore within the pages of the Word of God that we can reach out to and pull them close to us and hide them in our hearts.
Lord, thank you for helping me to remember that there are many promises that I can reach out to and pull them close so that I can move forward in You. And, thank you for reminding me that even when I have lost faith in myself that You have not and are there for me.
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