Quiet Time Notes

Notes from my daily Quiet Times with God

Fear of Failure - That Our Faith Should Not Fail

February 15th, 2012
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by Rosalind Lam, San Francisco Church of Christ

Luke 22:31-62

Jesus recognized the spiritual battle both he and his disciples would undergo before his arrest and therefore prayed that Simon's faith would not fail him and that he would "repent and turn to [Jesus] again, strengthen and build up [his] brothers" (NLT). Peter was blinded by his pride and did not have a sober view of his own ability to resist temptation, even after Jesus warned him that he would deny him. Peter's overconfidence was evident when he chose to sleep instead of pray and Peter's reliance on his flesh led to him being overpowered by fear and failing to have conviction during the time of pressure. Though Peter got bitter at his failure initially, he did not let it destroy his faith but went on to do amazing things for God, including preaching the opening sermon for the church.

What I learn from this passage about my own failures as a Christian is that Satan's ultimate goal is that my faith will fail me. Jesus' prayer helped me to make a decision that as long as I fight hard in prayer to repent and turn back to God, use my failures to build the faith of other Christians, and never give up, I can always make a comeback as Peter did and see God use me to fulfill his dreams for my life.

Decisions:

• Look at how God has overcome my shortcomings to help me grow.
• Build trust in God today by sharing a victory with a friend.

Key Phrase: Peter's reliance on his flesh led to him being overpowered by fear