I got it, I got it...oops, I don't got it!

*Careful, long entry*

Verse for the day:
"But what about you?" He asked. "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." -Mark 8:29
(After Jesus told his disciples that He must die and be resurrected)...Peter took him (Jesus) aside and began to rebuke Him. But when Jesus turned and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." -Mark 8:32-33(Italics mine).

So, here's a thought. How could Peter totally get it one moment and then completely miss it the next? I don't think it's as hard as it seems when you read the story and put yourself in Peter's situation. Think about it like this. You're following Christ. He's performing all kinds of miracles, casting out demons, calming raging storms, walking on water, and feeding thousands of people with a few loaves of bread, twice! If that wasn't enough, you're on the inside! You're in the "inner circle of trust." You're daily seeing your wildest dreams come true. Is there anyone reading this right now that wouldn't give anything to change places with Peter? I would love to be there! But, I'm not so sure I would handle myself any differently than Peter.

Think about this. You are in Peter's place. Knowing what you know and seeing what you've seen, how would you feel when Jesus tells you He has to die and rise again and ascend to Heaven. Basically, He tells you He's leaving you. Talk about a shock. Imagine being hit with that bolt of lightening! You've got all of these plans and you know you've been imagining your life 5, 10, 20 years from now and how much better it's going to be because Jesus is going to be King of Israel and rule the land and you've got a direct line with Him. Now, you see all of those dreams and plans going up in smoke. All those plans depend on Jesus being there. Now He tells you His time has come? Say what?

I can just imagine what Peter said to Jesus as he "rebuked" Him. You want to know how I know? Because I too have been guilty many times of rebuking Jesus in my life. I'm sure I'm not alone either. Think about it. What do we do when we see our plans crumble? We question God. We ask, "How can this be happening to me?" Heck, I usually pout for a few days...sometimes months if we're being honest here. In some form or fashion, we all voice to God our lack of understanding in what's going on. Just like Peter did. But why? How can we know that He is the Christ and that when we trust Him as our savior, we are now in His capable hands, yet still question whether or not He knows what He's doing? Or, how can we dare to question whether or not He's forgotten about us. Those very actions contradict what we know, don't they? So, why do we still do it?

The reason lies in Jesus' answer to Peter. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." We aren't thinking of the bigger picture. We aren't thinking about bring glory to the Father. We are worried about our plans and the sudden absence of the safety net that we've created for ourselves. We depend on our understanding of the situation as opposed to trusting God to fulfill His promises to us.

But be encouraged! Jesus doesn't hold grudges! Yeah! He not only forgives our unbelief, He helps to increase our faith by giving us understanding. He wants us to know and to trust Him; He continually shows up in our lives to prove it. We just have to make sure our minds are on Him and not on this world. The world doesn't dictate what we need, thankfully. Otherwise, we'd never have enough. Only God knows what we truly need and where we truly need to be! And He only wants the best for us! So, again, be encouraged! If nothing else, rest assured that you are loved today!

I hope this helps someone today. It helped me just by writing it. Have a blessed day.