What I Never Will Do

Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." Matthew 26:33

Peter says this in all zealous honesty. He is passionately dedicated to the Lord and He wanted to convey the depths of His commitment to Jesus. I don't do this nearly as often as I used to, but even at this juncture of my faith, I am still capable of overstating my claim to be faithful beyond fault. Granted we should be convincingly sure of our heartfelt desire and willingness to be totally and completely sold out to the Lord. Frankly' more often than not we are more inclined to understate our commitments than to overstate them. So then, how do we balance being crippled by cautiousness and being embarrassed by failure?

Let me share about me, so hopefully you can learn something about you. I do both things. I am fully able to jump in the deep end and promise the moon to God without counting the cost or thinking ahead or considering the consequences. On the other hand, I can also be very prone to hem and haw and beat around the bush and procrastinate responsibilities too. For me, I must search my heart about my true motivations for whichever course I choose. I have to ask myself when diving headlong (like Peter) Just who am I trying to impress? Or, when I am avoiding decisions... What am I afraid of? In either case God’s love is the key for me. God knows my intentions and even though I am trying to gain approval, He loves me even though I should know I don't have to make rash promises. God also understands my fear of confrontation and risk-taking and loves me even though I am stuck in the paralysis of analysis. So I count my blessings that He cannot be impressed and also forgives freely. It is His unfailing love that allows me to either "stifle it" or "step it up", whatever is truly needed. All I have to do is consider the truths as I know them before I move or speak too soon or get bogged down in the process of finally doing something.

I hope you can find balance in your life too between getting ahead of, or behind the timing of God's plan. Jesus knows us as well as He did all those Disciples and whether we won't move or won't slow down, if we will just turn to Him sooner we can prevent a lot of failure, embarrassment and wasting of precious time. So join me in doing both. Taking risks and taking steps and doing both while seeking constant coaching from Him.

I need to always remember I am in Him,
Pastor Fred

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