Life is full of crossroads. Some occurring as a result of the natural flow of life, others the result of our decisions. And in those seasons, we are always faced with a pivotal decision. Will we focus on what we can see? The broken relationship, the situation that seems like it can't be redeemed, the situation that we need God to move in? Or will we focus on the One that can change it all? Because our focus, our perception, of the place that we are in now, determines the decisions that we make. And our decisions, determine whether we move towards the place that God has for us, or whether we move further away from that place of promise.
In those times, it is so easy to be thrown off by what we perceive to be true. And the uneasiness that comes with waiting on God, can cause us to slip and fall. It can cause us to move outside of grace, into a place that we were never destined to be. But, I want us to understand that even in those moments, God still has a plan. What is a surprise to us, has already been known to God. He knows all of our days. He knows the decisions that we will make before we ever make them. And in the event that we slip and fall, He is prepared to catch us. He is prepared to grab hold of us and set us right back on the path that He has for us.
The life of Simon Peter displays this so well. Peter describes himself as a man that has many flaws, he acknowledges that he is a sinful man. But, the bible also describes him as a man that, despite his sin nature, is sold out to Jesus.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” (Luke 5:4-5, 7-8 NLT)
As soon as Peter gets a revelation of who Jesus is, he realizes that he isn’t worthy of being in the presence of the Lord. But none of this matters to Jesus. Jesus knew who Peter was; yet, He still chose him.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. (Luke 5:10-11 NLT)
As we continue to read about Peter, we see him as a man of such great faith, that he steps outside of a boat to walk on water. But soon after, he is faced with a moment of weakness, a moment of distraction. Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus, looks around at his situation, and fear begins to creep in. He begins to sink because he’s no longer filled with the faith that he had just moments earlier.
“Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. (Matthew 14:29-32 NLT)
Peter began to sink because he took his focus off of Jesus. But I want to point out what He did immediately after. He lifted his focus back towards his Savior.
“Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
Peter immediately remembered where his help came from. Yes, he took his focus off of Jesus, but he didn’t allow that one slip to take him out. I think this is interesting. We’ve all heard this story, of how Peter focused on the waves and began to drown. But no one ever points out what Peter did next. That he then lifted his eyes to Jesus. The One that his confidence was in. The One that could save him.
In life, we will slip and fall from time to time. It is inevitable. As imperfect people, we will never be able to stay on the path that God has for us, not all the time. But it’s what we do next, that makes the difference.
Will we allow ourselves to continue to sink, or will we cry out to the Lord, as Peter did?
And later, when Jesus is betrayed by Judas, and arrested by Roman soldiers, we see that Peter takes matters into his own hands, Peter is determined to protect Jesus.
Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?” (John 18:10-11 NLT)
This is another instance where we see that Peter has taken his eyes off of Jesus. His actions show that he was not focused on his savior, but he was focused on the problem that He was facing. Only, Jesus didn’t need Peter’s help. In fact, Jesus had already warned his disciples of what was to come. But I want to point out Jesus’ reaction to Peter. He didn’t address Peter out of anger, or even disappointment. But Jesus’ reaction, was to remind Peter of His purpose. He reminded Peter that there was a higher calling at stake.
I want this to sink into the depths of our soul today. Our God, is not one that sits on high, pointing His finger at us. He is a merciful God. He is a God that corrects us in love and grace.
But in those moments, when we fail, we can get overwhelmed with our own feelings of disappointment, and the fear that the decisions that we’ve made might cancel out God’s plan for our lives. But I want to assure us, that God's mercies are new daily.
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT)
Why do you think God gives us fresh mercy every morning? Because He knew that we would need it. He knew that there would be times that we would need to experience the never-endingness of His love and mercy.
There is nothing powerful enough to take us out of His hands. Nothing can separate us from His love.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NLT)
We must remind ourselves of this. Because sometimes, we are so focused on the situations that we’ve gotten ourselves into, that we start believing that we aren’t worthy of more. We convince ourselves that we aren’t worthy of God’s love. We start to believe that we’ve messed up so much, that our situation is no longer redeemable.
But God can redeem anyone. He can redeem any situation.
God doesn’t want perfection. He just wants you.
And we are shown this, through the life of Peter.
Once Jesus is betrayed and arrested, Peter follows close behind. He is there to witness the questioning of Jesus. But as this is going on, a few bystanders recognize Peter as one of Jesus’ disciples, and they begin to question him, asking him if he is a follower of Jesus. But Peter denies his relationship with Jesus, three times.
Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed. (John 18:25-27 NLT)
I can only imagine how Peter felt in that moment, as the rooster crowed. Because Jesus told him this would happen.
“But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.” Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me. (John 13:37-38 NLT)
As Peter faced the reality of his denial, I’m almost certain that he s filled with disbelief in his own actions. He's left with the realization that he disowned his relationship with his Lord and Savior. Maybe he felt like a failure. Maybe he asked himself how he could have disowned the One that believed in him. He probably felt like a disappointment.
But, this is not how Jesus felt about Peter. Remember, Peter’s actions were not a surprise to Jesus. Jesus knew Peter would deny Him, but He still called him. In fact, Jesus called Peter again, even after the denial.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to the disciples, in a moment that resembles the first time He called Peter.
At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. (John 21:4-7 NLT)
Jesus and the disciples shared a meal together. Then, He had a conversation with Peter.
“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead. After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep. “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.” (John 21:12, 14-19 NLT)
I can’t imagine how special this moment was for Peter. After everything he’d been through, after every failure, after the denial, his Savior was still there. Jesus still wanted him. Jesus still desired to use him. In that moment, Peter received the grace and mercy of God. Peter experienced the love that says, “I’ll never give up on you.”
As I studied Peter, I realized that despite his reservations and doubt, he had the ability to refocus himself. Yes he slipped, yes he sank, but he never drowned. He never allowed himself to loose hope. Over and over again, he lifted his eyes to the Savior. Regardless of what he thought about himself, regardless of what the facts were, he had a resolve that said “But if you say so.” That’s all Peter’s faith was. It wasn’t because he believed so firmly, it was because he chose to grab hold of what Jesus said, instead of allowing his own beliefs to get the best of him. Every time he doubted, every time he failed, every time he slipped, he allowed Jesus to lift his head back up. He made the decision to lift his eyes to his Savior.
And I know there’s been days when you’ve felt like you couldn’t see your way through. I know there’s been days when you’ve felt like Peter, that you weren’t worthy of sitting in the presence of God. Maybe you’ve felt like you’ve missed your chance, or that it’s too late. But I want you to know that Jesus is right here with you, in this moment. And He isn’t here to remind you of everything you’ve ever done wrong, he’s here to lift your head up high, right now. He says, “I know what you’ve been through, I know what’s going on right now, but will you look at me. Will you allow me to lift you up, and place you on the path that I have prepared for you.”
It’s not about where you are, it’s about Who you’re with.
When Jesus called you, he knew where you would fall short. He knows your weaknesses. But regardless of all of that, He says, “Follow me.” He says, “Just look up.” It doesn’t matter where you find yourself at. It doesn’t matter what happened. What matters is Who is with you. Are you looking at the One who is with you? Because He says, “Lift your eyes.” He say’s, “Take My hand, and keep your eyes on Me.”
Don’t look down at the waves. Don’t look around at the wind that is surrounding you. Lift your eyes. Allow Jesus to grab hold of you. Receive the grace that He has for you.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your never-ending grace and mercy that is available to me daily. Right now, I choose to put down the cares of this world, and I choose to receive your grace. I choose to receive your mercy. Thank you for loving me endlessly. Thank you for continually reaching down and rescuing me. Thank you for never giving up on me. Right now, I lift my eyes to You, the maker of the heavens and earth. You are where my help comes from. And when I am faced with the worries of this life, I pray that Your Spirit would remind me that you never grow faint or weary. There is no limit to Your understanding. Nothing is impossible for you. You know all things. You redeem and restore all things. So Father, right now, I pray that Your will be done in my life. I choose You. I will follow you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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