1 Corinthians 1:27
God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
When we think of courage and strength, we think of grit, sweat, blood, and tears.
We think of exerting our will on a situation and overcoming it.
We watch motivational videos that tell us to wake up earlier, to push harder, to “embrace the suck” and to take what we want from life.
While determination and discipline are part of God's formula for sanctification, they are also tools that Satan can use to bring you in the exact opposite direction!
The world is full of examples of men determined to do vile things. Men who exhibited great discipline in carrying out evil.
God puts it this way in Proverbs 16:32: “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”
Strength, determination, and discipline are of no value in and of themselves.
Directed toward the wrong objective, these attributes become destructive.
It is actually man’s determination that leads him straight to hell!
Satan's determination, when he said, “I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High,” caused him to be tossed from heaven.
The LORD says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. (Psalm 32:8-10)
God created men in His Image.
If you have been born again, you are endwelled with a spirit of power! The very same power that raised Jesus’s body from death unto life!
He has “given us a spirit of power, love, and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Unlike the power endorsed by the world, God’s power has, attached to it. self-control.
The God who created the sun, with all of its magnificent power, also set its boundaries and limits.
The God who created the mighty ocean also said to that ocean, “This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!” (Job 38:11)
It is the duty of a Christian man who has been endowed with this mighty power to steward properly.
There is a quote, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Praise God that He gave us His Son, the head of the body, the church, the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, to show us what that stewardship looks like.
God gave this power to Jesus first, before He gave it to us. In Jesus, He set the example of how this power was to be used.
“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11)
You aren’t going to see that in a motivational video.
God, to shame those who think they are strong, chose what the world calls total weakness and made it total strength.
He chose to arm disarmament.
He chose the humble to lead the proud.
He chose submission to shatter defiance.
When Jesus exhibited this power by putting on an apron and stooping down to wash His disciples’ feet… He knew they would not understand.
He told them, “You don’t understand what I am doing now, but you will understand later.”
He knew that God would train them.
God would bring them through the wilderness to be tempted, just as He was tempted.
God would speak to them in those moments of solitude and prayer, just as He was spoken to.
God would perfect the power that He was about to place in them.
Peter, responding based on the only training he had received…Training derived from a world that despises weakness… A world under the control of a being that refuses to ever humble himself… Responded “No! you will never ever wash my feet!
When Jesus revealed to Peter the suffering, shame, and rejection that God had chosen in order to bring about healing, honor, and reconciliation, Peter responded, “Never, Lord!” “This shall never happen to you!”
Peter was not part of the new system of power that God had devised.
Peter had old training in an old system.
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
A new system had been fully revealed, walking among them, eating and drinking with them. Sleeping next to them.
When we think of courage and strength, we think of grit, sweat, blood, and tears.
We think of exerting our will on a situation and overcoming it.
We see the cross and we say “never!”
We hear the insults and the mocking, and we say “never!”
We feel the blows from the crowds and the spit and the shame and the nakedness, and we say “never!”
We do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.
If we want the power that raised Jesus to be exhibited in our lives…
If we want to exist in that new system…
It won’t make sense.
It won’t be easy.
It will require training from God.
If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. (Romans 8:17)