We know that we have an evil adversary. We know that we face adversity from our sin. But we have the Son of God, the Savior of the world praying for us! Jesus is our Advocate before our Heavenly Father. Therefore, no matter what Satan does, no matter how far we might fall, our faith will not fail completely and God will again make us useful for His purposes.
When we are committed to Christ, when we learn and lean upon Him, He will be faithful to us, though we are so often disloyal to Him, Peter discovered that firsthand.
He fell into Satan's trap and was unfaithful to Jesus. Even so, Jesus was faithful to Peter, and Peter went on to be a great leader in the early church. It took place just as Jesus said it would, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail." Our adversary wants us to crumble under adversity. But he cannot have us, and we will not crumble, as long as Jesus, our Advocate, is praying for us and we are learning to lean on Him.
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This truth directs us to a fourth and final point in our text. While Satan is our adversary, sin brings adversity, and Jesus is our Advocate, we discover that serving others offers a new adventure. In verse 32 after Jesus told Peter, "I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail," He continued, "and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
Because of Peter's denials, Jesus could have dismissed Peter from the circle of His closest disciples. He could have judged Peter unfit to serve. But our human way of thinking is not Christ's way. Sometime after the drama of that dark Friday afternoon and the incredible resurrection reports of a brilliant Easter dawn, the risen Lord came to Peter and recommissioned him for a new, Spirit-filled, and adventure-filled ministry.
We read of this re-commissioning in
John 21. Peter had denied Jesus three times, and in this passage we read three times Christ's question, "Peter, do you love Me?" Three times we read Christ's command, "Feed My lambs ... take care of My sheep ... feed My sheep." Here Jesus was saying, in effect, "Peter, follow Me. Learn from Me. Lean on Me. Teach My disciples. Strengthen your brothers and sisters to do the same."
What a gracious God and loving Lord we have been invited to serve! As with Peter, Jesus comes to us again and again, a fifth time, a tenth time, a hundredth and thousandth time, if necessary, that we might learn from Him and lean on Him anew. We don't deserve God's mercy that comes in those "cock-a-doodle-doo" encounters. We do not deserve another chance, much less new adventures in serving the Lord. But God's grace says otherwise.
As Charles Swindoll puts it, "The files of heaven are filled with stories of redeemed, refitted renegades and rebels.... When God forgives, He forgets. He is not only willing but pleased to use any vessel -- just as long as it is clean today. It may be cracked or chipped. It may be worn, or it may have never been used before. You can count on this -- the past ended one second ago. From this point onward, you can be clean, filled with His Spirit, and used in many different ways for His honor" {Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, Portland: Multnomah, 1983, p. 253).
Thanks be to God for this Good News! New adventures and new opportunities to serve Christ await us this week. So marvel at His mercy. Tell of His faithfulness. Share your own story. Strengthen your brothers and sisters. You might begin by saying, "It's been a real wake-up call." Awake and alert, what are we waiting for?