Stay Close... and Safe

“It is when, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you are enabled to walk with Jesus in His very footsteps that you are most happy and most known to be the sons of God. Peter at a distance is both unsafe and uneasy.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Irony of ironies…

When the chief priests, the scribes, and the mob they had incited approached Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter initially defended Him. In fact, he bravely (albeit foolishly) wielded his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. However, once Jesus was arrested and it became clear that He was going to be tried, convicted, and crucified, Peter abruptly changed course. Like the rest of the apostles, Peter “forsook Him and fled” (Matthew 26:56).

Torn between his love for Jesus and his primal fears, Peter eventually regained his composure and decided to follow Jesus “at a distance.” However, thinking that a few hundred feet provided him adequate cover was a tragic mistake, because it led to Peter denying Jesus not once, but three different times in the span of a few minutes.

There are important lessons to be learned from Peter’s mishandling of the above situation and the most critical is this: our instinct for self-preservation is powerful. So powerful, in fact, that it threatens to overwhelm all other priorities in life. But as believers, we cannot allow it to dissuade us from doing the right thing, no matter how much that may imperil us.

Just imagine what would have happened if the Apostle Paul had given up after his first beating, his second shipwreck, or his third lashing? Or, for that matter, if Jesus Himself had thrown in the towel when the Jewish leaders violently opposed Him and repeatedly threatened His life?

Stay close to Jesus if you want to be spiritually safe!

“Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (BSB)

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President