Luke 22:54-62
...A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, "This man was with him." But he denied it. "Woman, I don't know him," he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." "Man, I am not!" Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean." Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Peter had loudly claimed that "even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." Actually, this is one of the greatest shortfalls of human beings. We depend on ourselves too much, and we often think that "others may fall, but I have my principles, so I'll never fall or deny my Lord." We don't recognize our own weaknesses, and that's why God wants to train us with suffering in order to let us know how inadequate and incompetent we are.
God often uses the environment to train us, and He also uses our coworkers to let us know that we lack wisdom; He may also use our family members to see that we are not patient enough. God is training Peter her to recognize that his own natural life was useless. He thought he could win the spiritual battle with his courage, but in fact the courage and plot of people are insufficient in facing attacks from Satan. Therefore, for Peter, who was brave and hot-tempered, it was a great shame for him to deny the Lord three times in front of the servants and maids. Later on he went out to cry, and he probably thought he would never serve God again! He disappointed the Lord who loved him, the people who loved him, and worst of all he disappointed himself.
Have you ever been as disappointed as Peter? Perhaps some of the things you've done in your past have brought you shame, thinking that you will never be able to serve God again. Psalm 51:17 says that "a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Our God can heal broken hearts, and He can straighten a crooked path. That's why Peter was ultimately able to stand up again by the Lord; on the day of Pentecost, he stood up and preached to the people. From human perspective, he's the last guy who should get up and preach, but by the grace of the Lord he stood up again. To Peter, it was the most unforgettable experience in his life; started from that point on, he would never boast about himself. He was dead to himself, but alive to the Lord! At the end of that day, three thousand people accepted the Lord. This is such a comforting thing to witness, the joy of going from crying to harvesting. Therefore, do not despair, let God work in your heart, until He accomplishes His own will!
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