DAILY DEVOTIONAL FROM PASTOR WESLEY March 2, 2021

Instruction From the Lord

From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. Matthew 16:21-27

The incident in today’s passage demonstrates a common struggle for believers: At times God’s Word or ways might be different than what we want. When the Lord does something that’s not in line with the result we hope for, we may respond with anger, fear, rebellion, or despair.

This conflict between us and God can happen whenever our desires clash with His or when we consider our own reasoning to be superior. Although we may think our disagreement with the Lord is no big deal, Jesus’ response to Peter indicates otherwise. When the apostle set his mind on man’s interests rather than God’s, he was distracted by the devil’s lies instead of supporting Jesus’ work. That’s not a place any believer wants to be in. Although some passages in the Bible may challenge our faith and call for self-denial, we shouldn’t let any initial reluctance keep us from obeying the Lord.

Remember, God’s understanding far exceeds ours because He is eternal and omniscient. Everything in His Word is true and “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). The exchange between Peter and Jesus should serve as a reminder that God knows what He’s doing and is worthy of our trust and obedience.

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