Word Count: 1048

Contact Shannon Heiden

Another Chance....

by Shannon Heiden  
1/10/2009 / Devotionals

But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'
Mathew 16:7

Have you ever been in a place in your life that you just needed to know that you were going to make it through the mess you find yourself in? Have you ever done something or some things that you regretted only to look back in hindsight and just wished you knew then what you know now?

Do you know what it is like to know Him in the power of His resurrection, to soar on the wings of eagles, to leap on the mountain tops, to know and experience the peace that guards your heart and mind in one moment, and then in the blink of an eye, you find yourself off the mountain, down in the valley, the wings that soared yesterday are no longer gliding but furiously flapping, they are injured and you are now declining on a fast descent into the ground?

Yesterday you were victorious today you are broken. In one day, one hour and in one minute your whole life has changed, in just one phone call, one report or in one conversation everything you praised God about has turned into a distant memory and the joy you had yesterday has turned into tears of sorrow today.

The peace that once guarded you now eludes you, and the confidence you walked so boldly in has now turned to cowardice and your whole world seems to be falling apart. Did you fall so far beyond reach? Did you miss your opportunity? Maybe, you think, this is all there is for you, you really did it this time and who do you think you are to believe for anything different? Who are you anyway to think that God has a magnificent plan and He still wants you to carry it out?

Peter was a man who understood this very thing. He was hand picked by God himself to be His disciple. Surely today, church leaders looking for an employee on their staff would skip right over Peter. After all, he didn't have a degree in theology he was a fisherman. Peter had a temper, he cursed, he often spoke before he thought. Peter had a lot of faults, but God chose him anyway. In one moment Peter declared Christ as the Son of the Living God and a few sentences later Jesus rebuked him, telling him he didn't have his eyes on God but on men.
Say what you will about Peter, but be careful to include that he loved God with all of his heart. Peter loved the Lord so intently that despite all of his failures, his heart was right for it belonged to God and the Lord knew it even when Peter didn't.

Remember, it was Peter who climbed out of the boat, it was Peter who walked on water to his master, it was Peter who cut a mans ear off to defend his Lord, and it was Peter that despite his failures and in spite of all his successes that God chose for himself.
When you look at the life of Peter you see a man who is just like you and I. One day he's walking on water, full of faith in the Son of the living God and the next he is being corrected by the Lord for his carnality. One day he is on the mountaintop of the transfiguration and the next day he is swimming in a stream of failure, self defeat and regret.

And this is where we find him, in the river of his life, drowning in denying his Lord.
Have you ever denied your Lord? Have you ever done something you thought you would never do? Are you drowning in guilt and regret?

One thing you need to know right now is, that God chose you before you ever did that thing you hate. He engraved your name on His palm before you were ever born, before you ever did anything good or bad and He chose you anyway!
Why do we constantly live in the failures of last night?
Somehow I think it is more of a pride issue than an issue of our failure. Somehow we need to think that we have enough power to be who we want to be and then we despise who we are because we are not where we think we should be.

Whose life is it anyway?

Is it you who lives or Christ who lives in you? Were you not bought with a price, ransomed from your old ways? Are you a sinner who struggles to be a child of God or are you a child of God who struggles with sin?

One thing we need to get settled once and for all is that we are powerless to become who we want to be. The person you dream about is the person the Lord see's and He will mold you into. Let's not think that there is anything good in us by our own doing, take no confidence in the flesh, for it profits us nothing.

Peter was a child of God who knew the joy of following the Lord, and he also knew the pain of the realization that no matter how much you love the Lord, there will be times when our self preservation will rise up and we deny the God we adore in some way, but take heart because God knew it before you did and He chose you anyway.

It is not by our might nor by our power but by His Spirit that we will leap on the mountain top with God again, and from the valley there is no where else to go from here but up.

The Lord made sure to call Peter by name from the river of doubt, guilt, and regret. Go and tell the disciples and Peter. God called out to this man in shame, and He called him by His name. God still wanted Peter and my friend God still wants you.

Doesn't it make your heart glad that He is not just a God of a second chance, but of another chance?

Shannon Heiden
[email protected]
changingonelifereachingmany.typepad.com

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Shannon Heiden

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer