Jesus reacted to life situations very differently than the people around Him. He had a healthier spiritual life and perspective than the people around Him. Look at these scenes below and see if you would have reacted like Jesus or the people around Him in those situations.
Jesus had peace and trust in the Father in scary situations, man panics:
Jesus slept in the boat during the storm, but the apostles panicked (Mt 8:23; Mk 4:35-40; Lk 8:22-25). The Pharisees and high priest were in an uproar and agitated during trial proceedings, Jesus was perfectly calm even though HE was the one on trial (Mt 26:62-68).
Would you have reacted more like the apostles or Jesus in the boat?
How do you act and react in frightening or difficult situations?
- Imitate Jesus by trusting in the Father and remaining calm.
Jesus followed the Father’s will over His own, man is concerned about our own will:
In Gethsemane Jesus accepted God’s will instead of His fleshly will about going to the Cross. In the same scene, Peter rejected God’s will and tried to fight the crowd and then ran away because things weren’t happening according to his will (Mt 26:36-39, 47-54; Mk 14:43-50; Lk 22:38-42, 49-51; Jn 18:4-11).
Do you choose God’s will over your own? What about when you are tempted?
- Imitate Jesus by accepting and desiring God’s will over your own.
Jesus looked at things from God’s perspective, we look at things from a worldly one:
Peter rebuked Jesus about going to Jerusalem (the Cross) because he was looking at it from man’s perspective. He was seeing it as a friend going into a dangerous situation. Jesus saw it from God’s perspective as the only way to save mankind. (Mk 8:31-35).
Do you look at things from a spiritual perspective or only from a worldly one?
- Imitate God by looking at all things from a spiritual perspective.
Jesus proclaimed allegiance to God under the threat of persecution, Peter denied Him:
Jesus spoke clearly about Himself and His allegiance to the Father regardless of the consequences (Mt 26:62-68). Peter and others denied Christ because they were afraid of persecution.(Mt 26:63-74; Mk 14:61-71; Jn 12:42-43).
Do you proclaim your faith and alliance to Jesus no matter what, or are you shy, afraid, or ashamed?
- Imitate God by being bold and faithful in your allegiance and confession of Him and the Father even when it is dangerous.
Summary
- When things get scary, trust God and don’t panic.
- Follow God’s will then your will is opposed to it.
- Look at life from a spiritual and eternal perspective not a worldly (temporary) one.
- Be faithful and allegiant to God always, even in the face of persecution.
BIBLE DEVOTIONS FOR LIVING 