The Worst Kind of Discouragement

“And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ So he went out and wept bitterly.” (Matthew 26:75)

Basic training! For anyone who has served their country via the military, regardless of the branch of service, the reality of basic training conjures up so many different experiences and for the most part not very pleasant. One of those memories is that of learning how to march in rank with 40-50 other individuals. One must learn how to march ‘in step’ with everyone else.

When a trainee fails to listen to the cadence being shouted out … when the trainee fails to keep himself/herself ‘in step’ it can create unpleasantness for self and even those immediately around you who are also striving to step in step. It is the same principle in a marching band, life, and in the church!

It is really difficult to consider just how low the apostle Peter must have felt when what the Lord said would happen … happened. One of the Lord’s most trusted apostles denied the Lord! Imagine his disappointment if you can. He got out of step! He didn’t just deny Jesus once or twice, but three times and with each new denial the ugliness of the events became more intense.

• He must have been so disappointed in what he had done.
• He must have felt such deep remorse that he had disappointed His Savior and friend!
• He must have been so disappointed in himself that he didn’t have enough self-discipline to say NO!
• He must have thought “I can’t believe I allowed myself to do what I’ve just done!”
• He must have thought “I was just sure I was stronger than that.”
• He must have thought “how did I get to this point?”
• His experience led to a sobering realization of just how much he needed the Lord. And it is that realization that both influenced and motivated Peter to “go out and weep bitterly.”

Each of us makes choices along the way that reflect disobedience, self-will and failure to always remember the Lordship of Jesus. We make the wrong choice which is often followed by another wrong choice. We find ourselves out of step with the Lord and His people! Meanwhile our Lord is patiently waiting for us, remembering us and looking for signs that we are remembering Him. Make no mistake about it; there is no discouragement that compares to that of self-consent to wrong doing! Enduring the consequences of one’s own irresponsibility creates feelings of grief and discouragement that defy description except in the hardened heart.

This series of unfolding events in the life of Peter should serve to remind each of us of our own weakness and of the beauty and assurance of God’s grace that is available to us when we “come to ourselves” and realize that the only true way to both live and die is found in the Lord!

The worst kind of discouragement happens with the storm that sin brings about within the soul, the storm within the heart that is still teachable and tender to God’s love is just not calmed quickly. Real joy and peace … a sense of calm after the storm requires time and the ability to focus through the eye of faith upon the only One who can truly save us and bring us to port safely.

A word of caution must be extended: Satan, our real enemy who continues to do everything he can to destroy us, pulls out all of the stops to keep us from keeping our eyes on the Lord. Don’t be led astray by continually looking back and dwelling on the past. Make the corrections and start looking forward to every day of the rest of your life walking in the light of God’s will!

Great comfort came to Peter and serves as a wonderful example to us in the words of Mark 16:7, “But go, tell His disciples – and Peter – that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him; as He said to you.”

Bill Fairchild, Jr.