Learn Discernment

“Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Matthew 16:22 If ever there was a moment when you would feel you could have full confidence in what someone said, this would be it. Peter was blessed by God. He had been walking with God in the flesh. God has opened his eyes to the truth about Jesus—surely what this man says must be right! But Peter’s well-meaning counsel to Jesus was completely wrong. When Peter said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he was right (Matt. 16:16). And when he said to Jesus, “Far be it from you Lord! This shall never happen to you,” he was wrong. The wisest believers can sometimes be wrong, so learn discernment in what you hear from others. The wisest counsellor you know may sometimes be wrong. Remembering this truth will keep you from putting someone you trust in the place that belongs to Jesus alone. So, here is what we learn from Peter’s presumptuous rebuke to Jesus: Learn to recognise when you are especially vulnerable to temptation.Learn humility in what you ask of Jesus.Learn discernment in what you hear from others. “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man” (Psa. 118:8). Is there someone in your life that you are trusting more than Jesus? Is there someone in your life that you are looking to for approval more than Jesus? Ask God to examine your heart and reveal to you the “counsel” you are truly trusting. Written by Colin Smith Read by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk