Bending without breaking - Hope 103.2

Bending without breaking

By David ReayFriday 5 Jul 2013LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes

Transcript:

Read Luke 22:31-34

31 “Simon,Simon,Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. 32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you,Simon,that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again,strengthen your brothers.”

33 Peter said,”Lord,I am ready to go to prison with you,and even to die with you.”


34 But Jesus said,”Peter,let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning,you will deny three times that you even know me.” (NLT)

How is it that Jesus prays that Peter’s faith not fail when in the same dialogue he tells Peter he will fail? We can assume Jesus’ prayer would not have been knocked back by God. And we can note that he is assuming Peter will turn out to be faithful in the end.

The answer comes in the idea of our faith bending without breaking. When Peter denied Jesus,his faith in a sense failed him. It fell short of what it ought to have been. He did the wrong thing. But he later repented of that and grew through it to become a leading follower of Jesus. The failure in one particular situation did not spell failure overall. His denying of Jesus did not mean Jesus’ prayer failed. Rather his recovery and restoration proved the prayer was effective.

Our faith can bend under the pressure of adverse circumstances. We may not conduct ourselves well due to a habitual sin coming back to bite us. But that doesn’t mean total failure of our faith. We can assume Jesus prays for us as he did for Peter. Which,as we see in his case,doesn’t mean our faith is not tested or that we will not fall short. It means that any one particular failure is not the end of the story.

The evil one attacks us so our faith will bend and buckle. Jesus defends us so our faith will not ultimately break.

Blessings
David Reay