Have I Crowed?

After telling Jesus that he, Peter, was willing to lay down his life for Jesus, how it must have stung in his heart to have Jesus say that he would deny Him three times that night. Even more so, after Peter cut off the ear of the guard only to have Jesus rebuke him. Surely, Peter thought that he was showing Jesus he was serious about laying down his life by doing so. Yet when it came down to it, Peter probably counted in his head each time he denied that he knew Jesus. How hard it must have been for him to swallow when the rooster crowed, knowing he had done just as Jesus said he would do.

The thoughts that flooded his mind. He said he was willing to die for Jesus. How could he not want to be known as one of His disciples? What was he afraid of? Why did he let Jesus down?

I like Peter. Out of the disciples I think that he is the one that is most relateable. After all who doesn’t suffer for the dreaded, foot in mouth syndrome that Peter did, once in awhile. This was one of his biggest episodes of it.

We have in one way or another denied Jesus. You know the times when you have felt the Spirit telling you to say something and you have kept quiet, because you were afraid of what others around you would think, or you didn’t want to rock the boat. Maybe, God has placed something on your heart to do and you don’t do it thinking that you aren’t good enough, someone else could do a better job, or you feel that God surely didn’t mean for you to do it. Are you afraid to say to God, “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”, because that might mean going on the mission field?

Has the rooster crowed yet? We are so much like Peter thinking that sure we would do anything for Jesus. Yet, when it comes down to it we tend to run and hide in the shadows hoping no one will recognize us. It took me ten years to stop denying God when He told me to start writing on the Bible for Him. Making it applicable for others. Ten years I said that there were others out there that were better than me.

Just like Peter, who thought surely Jesus was wrong about him, he would never deny Jesus. God knows us better than we know ourselves. Don’t hide in the shadows hoping someone other than you will do what He has asked you to do. When we do what He says we will be blessed b Him. How happy Peter must have felt when for each time he denied Jesus, he was able to tell Jesus that he loved Him after Jesus had risen from the dead.

Was that the rooster?