For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3 NIV)
The night before Jesus died he shared a meal with his friends, including one of his closest companions, Peter. Then the group headed over to the Mount of Olives where Jesus knew He would face arrest and difficulty. Part of that difficulty was the knowledge that all of Jesus’ friends would desert him. On the way Jesus told His friends, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” (Matthew 26:31, 33 NLT)
Peter’s expectation of himself was that he would stay at Jesus’ side no matter what anyone else did. However, before that night was over, Peter had denied three times that he was with Jesus or even knew him. Peter meant what he said to Jesus but failed to do what he thought he could because he was relying on his own power.
How often do we have the same desire and the same bitter defeat? God invites us to live as the persons He created us to be, and to rely on His power to help us live successfully. We turned our will and our lives over to the care of God because we recognized that we do have limits, are powerless on our own, and our lives are unmanageable when we don’t include God.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (Jeremiah 29:11-12 NIV)
We need God’s help to get rid of defects of character, to inventory our daily lives with integrity, and to make necessary changes. As we grow in our conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation, we will not only get to know God’s will for us but will find ourselves filled with God’s power to actually carry it out.
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