"Simon Peter said unto him. Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards." (John 13:36 KJV)
"Therefore, I will always remind you about these things - even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live. For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life, so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone." (2 Peter 1:12-15 NLT)
As we begin to draw closer to the point of this portion of Scripture, knowing what it is that makes us more and more dedicated to serve, regardless of circumstance or trials, becomes abundantly clear to us, when we cast away all of the cares that are holding us back. Again, I am reminded of a message Pastor Gary gave, about 34 years ago, at Hosanna Chapel in Bellflower: "Sometimes, we just need to know how to drown!"
It isn't something that comes naturally, because we are usually going to fight to stay alive; even if we don't know how to swim, we will still do everything we can to keep our head above water. Therefore, we must commit to the fate, relax, and surrender to whatever God has planned, even if it means death! Just let go and let God!
Anything that needs to be added to that, is not really needed! We just let God have complete control, not thinking about what will happen; but, we must only believe, that no matter what happens, we will end up with the Lord! This is our hope, which is not based upon a mystery or something we do not know is the truth; it is more real to us than anything that will happen to us on this earth!
I hope you understand what that means, because there are several things that happen here that make us feel vulnerable and start being afraid for what might happen in any circumstance. The best way to avoid being afraid, is to consider the worst thing that could happen, and then have peace with that, knowing that you will be in the loving hands of our Lord!
Peter did not understand what Jesus said, but it will become abundantly later on, during that famous moment when Jesus says, "Peter do you love me?" I get that quite often, and it always has the same affect...
"This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" - and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies: he alone is God. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:15-17 NLT)
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