‘And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.’ Luke 22:47-50 NKJV
Think for a moment about what Peter was faced with. What would lead him to think that he had to pull out his knife and ‘get to cuttin’? Because he’s looking at the Man who’d caused blind eyes to see, maimed hands and feet to be restored, helped whores become sexually pure and had raised the dead on several occasions; do nothing when they came to arrest Him. And on top of that, after he asks the Lord if he could kill a few of those that were sent to apprehend Him, the Lord shocks him even further and heals the man he just attempted to kill after He commands him to “Permit even this.”
Those three words had to have shaken Peter to his core – ‘Permit even this.’ Permit, as in - stand there, watch, and do nothing. Peter had to be thinking, ‘This is crazy. I know I’m not supposed to LET this happen.’ Yes, he should have and here’s why. Because although they were in the heat of the moment, Jesus told him days – even weeks before, that this would happen. Matthew 20:18, 19 says, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” He’d spent weeks warning the disciples about what they were now experiencing. He’d already made it perfectly clear that they were going to kill Him and there was nothing they could do to stop it; which meant Peter should have never asked the question, 'Shall we strike with the sword?' Because if he’d have been paying attention, he’d have known that he’d already gotten his answer. And the same may be true for you.
Many times, the answers you seek have already been given. But for whatever reason, you pushed it aside, ignored it, forgot, didn't think it was from God or flat out didn’t want to do it; which is why you still believe you’re waiting on Him to answer; but in fact, He’s already told you what to do. You’re in a situation now that He’s already given you the solution to, but because the circumstances don’t look like what you thought they would, you think you don’t know what to do; when in reality, you do. Jesus said in Matthew 28:20 and Hebrews 13:5 that He is ‘…with you always’ and that ‘…He [would] never leave…or forsake you”; that includes never leaving you without a solution.
Pray this with me: Heavenly Father, please forgive me. I’ve asked You over and over about this situation thinking that I was waiting on You; when in fact, You’ve already told me what to do. Please forgive me for waiting and wasting precious time. Lord, remind me of what it is I need to do and by Your grace, I’ll do it – whether I want to or not. In Jesus’ name.
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