Hands of Misguided Zeal - Preview

So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup my Father has given me?” (John 18:11)

Whenever Jesus mentioned to his disciples that he must go to the cross and die, Peter reminded Jesus that he would not let that happen. It wasn’t that Peter was being selfish. His thinking was logical. Why should Jesus die unnecessarily? Why shouldn’t Peter and the other disciples fight to prevent this from happening?

But Peter was looking at it from a human perspective. It was God’s will that Jesus should go to the cross and die for the sins of the world. But in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was still looking at this from his human perspective. So when they came to arrest Jesus, Peter took out his sword to fight. He cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. But Jesus tells him to put his sword away. There would be no fighting at this time. This was the Father’s will. This was the way it had to happen.

Don’t we act like Peter sometimes? We try to do what makes sense to us and in doing so, we end up going against the will of God, making things harder for ourselves. We try to find a way around or out of our sufferings, rather than facing them and being strengthened by them. We try to do things our way, rather than the way that God has shown us. And we end up going against God’s will.

But just as Jesus stopped Peter, so we are told by Paul that all things work together for the good of those who love God. That includes the times when we do our very best to go against God’s will. The will of God is always accomplished in us because Jesus perfectly obeyed the will of God. He did exactly what the Father asked of him, without complaining or trying to go around it. He went to the cross so that we might be able to do the will of God. Amen.

The song for today is “Thy Will” By Hillary Scott & The Scott Family

Hillary Scott & The Scott Family - Thy Will (Official Video)