“But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 
—Luke 22:32, NASB

Reflection 

Think of Peter denying Jesus three times the night before Yeshua suffered the agony of the crucifixion. Messiah Jesus knew Peter was going to betray Him even back when He said to Peter, upon this rock I will build My church. Still, He chose Peter to be one of the pillars of the New Testament church and one of the writers of the Brit Hadashah, the New Testament. 

The point is that Jesus did not define Peter by his worst moment. Jesus saw clearly that Peter’s love was weak but genuine. Yeshua said, I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. 

Like Peter, just because your love is weak does not mean you are a hypocrite. Your love may be weak, but it is still authentic. It is still beautiful to God. So we must cry out in our moments of trouble, O You whom my soul loves, where do You pasture Your flock? 

Where do you go when you find yourself like this, having had an encounter with Jesus, having tasted the goodness of His Word, but now feeling distant from Him? Your heart is not beating after Him as fast as it used to. You have lost something special in the relationship. You might even be lukewarm. What should you do? Call out to Him. Tell Him you want to sit under the protective presence of His shade tree again and that you yearn to experience His rest anew. Ask Him in repentance and love to draw you back. 

When we seek to reconnect with God during the trials of life, He will not reject us. We naturally think He might come with a rebuke, asking why we did not keep up our relationship with Him, why we let our vineyard disintegrate, why we let our fellowship with Him grow cold. Instead, He comes speaking love and acceptance, wiping away the shame and guilt we are feeling. He speaks tenderly and softly to us. 

When Peter failed the Lord, he went away and wept bitterly. He was so ashamed that he felt unworthy to be an apostle anymore. He returned to his former vocation as a fisherman because he felt he was no longer worthy to be an apostle of Yeshua. 

What did Messiah Jesus do? He went to Peter in his place of shame and asked him, “Do you love Me?” Then He said, “Shepherd My sheep.” Jesus was restoring Peter to his place of intimacy. He was saying, run with Me again. I do not reject you. Let’s be near each other as we were before, and even closer. Let’s work side by side. Jesus was resolidifying Peter’s heart in His love. 

Application 

• When you feel distant, weak, or lukewarm, call out to God in repentance and love, asking Him to draw you back.  

• Let Jesus define you by His restoring love, not by your worst moment.  

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, I affirm and agree that I am beautiful to You. You are my beautiful Bridegroom King, and You created me in Your image. Thank You that You took away my sin and made me Your righteousness. Help me go deep into Your grace and experience the mystery of Your love. Restore me to my place of intimacy, and teach me to run with You again. Amen.