1/10/22
1 Peter 5:8–9
Does anyone ever get tired of doing the Lord’s work? You’ve been at it for years, see little change or impact, and discouragement takes over? I think we have all been there. This may be a result of becoming spiritually asleep. This reminds me of the passage when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane right before He was arrested and taken to trial. He asked his friends to go with Him and pray with Him. Jesus, the man, needed the company and encouragement of those who said they loved Him most, but when He came back to them after praying, He found them asleep. Peter, who just declared he was willing to die for Jesus, couldn’t stay awake with Him in prayer for just one hour.
Here are three things that we can take away when we the sheep succumb to spiritual slumber. First, we are poor companions to our Savior. The fact that Jesus calls us friends as He did in John 15 is amazing, but we become worthless friends when we are more consumed about our own self-interest. Second, it is easier for us to fall into temptation when we become spiritually asleep. Jesus told His disciples to pray with Him lest they fall into temptation. It is easier for us to fall into temptation when we are in this spiritual condition because when asleep it is hard to see the enemy coming. Third, we fail at defending the Savior very well. Jesus said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, you also love one another for this is how all people will know you are my disciples in the way in which you love one another.” Yet knowing this truth Peter fell back on old ways when the arresting party arrived because he pulled out his sword to defend Jesus. Jesus told him to put it away, and then healed the injured party who came to arrest Him. Jesus’ healing actions was the best defense of the kind of man He was.
We must remember what Peter later wrote and learn from him, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith.”[1] Stay awake dear sheep and be of service to your King!
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Pe 5:8–9). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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