Stop Struggling So Hard
Do you ever get exhausted from your life in Christ?
Are you tired of all the unmet expectations and failed efforts?
Do you find yourself so busy with ministry that you don’t have time for anything else?
Well, you’re may be doing it wrong!
Those who are familiar with Peter, in the Bible, know that his actions and mouth spoke before the Spirit had time to.
Jesus even called him Satan at one point, just for trying to help (Matthew 16:23).
Another example of this is found in Mark 9:2-8.
Peter, James and John went up on a mountain with Jesus and, all of a sudden, Jesus started glowing!
Then, Elijah and Moses showed up! How awesome!
This is where Peter does it again.
You’d think, by now, he would have learned to chill out a sec, but no.
Peter begins to run around, making plans, ready to start building tents (much like Martha did while Mary sat quietly at Jesus’s feet).
As Peter is working diligently to keep the awesome experience and desires, and to plant himself here forever with a residence for each of the persons, God has to interrupt him, almost as if to say, “SHUT UP PETER! Listen to my Son! You’re missing out ‘cause you are working too hard on things that don’t matter!”
But in verse 8 the answer to all of Peter’s problem is made clear.
Peter doesn’t need to quit working.
Peter doesn’t need to just shut up.
Peter could have sat in silence and still missed it.
No verse 8 is so full of richness and truth, and Peter needed only to realize it.
Mark 9:8
And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
Peter, James and John had been in the presence of God-in-flesh the entire time but on the mountain they got so distracted by all the “cool stuff” going on that they failed to see the truth and richness of what they had.
It wasn’t that they needed to claw their way out of darkness, but only to chase after what they could see.
If you have seen the glory of God through His calling and revelation of His Son Jesus in your heart, then quitting your sins is not the issue.
Pursuing Christ is what is needed.
If you can truly set your mind on things above, the things of earth seem so trivial.
God changed their view.
God did not tell them to climb higher, or be stronger, or do better.
He simply, made them to focus on Christ.
They could see only Him and that was all they needed.
Today, you do not need Jesus, plus a little extra cash.
You don’t have to have Jesus, plus the right courses on anger management.
And especially, you do not need Jesus and COFFEE.
You need only Christ at the center of your view.
He may very well guide you to courses and ways to prosper financially.
But you do not need anything but Him.
Matthew 6:33 says to seek FIRST His kingdom, and His righteousness and THEN all these things will be added.
Peter did not need to hang out with all of the OT prophets to encounter Christ.
In fact, he had been with Christ and that was the means by which all the other cool stuff happened.
It is easy for us to be distracted, just like Peter, with the things Christ has done for us.
We can become conceited about those we’ve led to faith.
We can “do ministry” at the expense of our relationship with Jesus Himself.
How many times at your church has the nursery had only two babies, but 8 youth felt like “serving the Lord” instead of being in the service for the preaching of the Word?
Do not be distracted, but focus first, most and only on Christ.