Shepherd Daily Devotional – The Things of God – Part Two

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – Mark 8:34

When Jesus began to teach the disciples about his suffering and death, the disciples became troubled. They couldn’t believe their cherished leader would say such negative things about himself. Peter in particular, seemed deeply troubled. He was so disturbed that he missed the better part of that prophecy. Although Jesus had said He would rise after three days, Peter ignored that part and instead, focused on the rejection, suffering and death. He probably wondered how “pain” and “gain” could ever match up. Possibly, what Peter had expected to hear was that Jesus would be a king. He probably thought that Jesus would establish His kingdom and then appoint his disciples as ministers. Peter didn’t want his beloved master to suffer any pain and suffering. He couldn’t bear the thought of seeing his master in a tomb. What Peter wanted was for Jesus to enjoy a smooth ride to the top.

Peter acted like most of us usually do. Most people like to think of life as easy and blissful, all the time. We think that life should always make way for us. Also, we want our loved ones to succeed, but we do not want them to suffer in the process. For that reason, we prefer to go places where we would be told nice things. We want to hear positive prophesies on how God is going to give us a great job or a beautiful car or house. Truly, God wants us to enjoy all the nice things of life. He also wants us to succeed in whatever we lay our hands to do. But He never promised that we would get all that we desire without hurdles. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the strength to carry my cross. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Mark 8:31-38

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.