“And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.” Luke 22:58.

It is a human frailty to experience fear and weakness at certain times in our lives. As born-again believers we walk this journey of life by our faith in God. However, the road that we travel does not have a straight path upward to heaven; the road has many twists and turns that go up and down. There are times, especially in this current age that circumstances can bring uncertainty and fear in situations near and dear to the heart; but God’s unconditional love for us will never disappoint and will keep us throughout eternity!

The apostle Peter found himself in a comparable situation when He denied the Lord three separate times. After the arrest of Jesus, Peter followed close by to see what would happen to the Lord; He hid and tried to appear as one in the crowd because he feared that they would not only kill Jesus, but him as well. So, as Jesus had already told Peter, he would deny Him after the cock crowed three times; Peter momentarily succumbed to his fears and denied his Lord . . . “And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:61-62.

All of us can remember and attest to falling prey to our weakness and fears. But the good thing is that just as the Lord foretold Peter’s denial, He knows just what we will do in every circumstance. God has a divine plan for each of our lives that nothing that even we do can thwart. Peter may have denied Christ, but God used his weakness to strengthen him; He was equipping Peter to also strengthen his brothers “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Luke 22:32.

Not only did Peter strengthen the other disciples, but he became a firm support for the early church in Jerusalem, exhorting and training others to follow the Lord Jesus; And we are still being strengthened through the scriptures written in 1 and 2 Peter to this very day. As with all our failures, God used Peter’s failures, including his three denials, to turn him from Simon, into Peter, one with a faith and determination as solid as a rock.

We can rest in the love and compassion of our Lord regardless to where we are in life; “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.” Lamentations 3:22. The Word is true, and God is faithful to every promise; He will give us strength and power as He completes the work that He has begun in us from the moment of our conception . . . “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6.

My friends, every born-again believer can rest in the assurance that our lives are divinely orchestrated. God loves us beyond our greatest imagination; and thank God, that because His grace is sufficient, we can hold on to His unchanging hands and wait to see what the end will be! “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9.

God’s blessings of love, grace and loving-kindness be with you always.