“But Peter said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!’ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me.’” —Luke 22:33–34
We must be on guard against our presumption, lest, like Peter, we fail. Peter, as confident as he was in his own heart, was not ready to go to prison or to death with Jesus. Our hearts are untrustworthy. Let’s give Peter credit; this event occurred prior to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit’s power. Our flesh is flawed at best, nevertheless, we are to be on guard against the deceitfulness of our own hearts:
“The human mind is more deceitful than anything else. It is incurably bad. Who can understand it? I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds. I examine people’s hearts. I deal with each person according to how he has behaved. I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.” —Jeremiah 17:9–10
The Lord is the only true discerner of each person’s innermost thoughts and motives. This is particularly important for us to acknowledge in the spiritual realm.
“Private loop-holes, sinful lusts, can hide themselves at times so well as to seem quite dead; but if we grow careless, they spring up again on a favourable occasion, and sometimes appear in a spiritual shape, and take a fine spiritual name. Thus, though the flesh exceedingly likes sensual indulgences, yet to flatter its lust of pride, and the vanity of being thought a perfect man, it will sometimes endure great mortification. Therefore we ought always to be jealous of ourselves, and guard as much against self-righteousness as licentiousness; for the flesh is never more fleshly and dangerous than when it has the most spiritual appearance, and covers its lusts with the holiness and spirituality of angels.” —K. H. von Bogatzky
Become More
How do we go about searching and guarding our hearts so as to equip ourselves for the high calling of discipleship? Like King David, we must ask God to examine our hearts and point out to us what needs to go and what needs to be fanned into flames. We must seek His ways fully through study and application of His Word, through prayer, through praise and thanksgiving, and through hiding His Word in our hearts.
“Examine me, O God, and probe my thoughts! Test me, and know my concerns! See if there is any idolatrous way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way!” —Psalm 139:23–24
Further Reflection
“The wiser we are in our own conceits, the more negligent are we in prayer, the more destitute of true wisdom and faith; for the Lord gives sight only to the blind, and to the babes, who pray for it.” —K. H. von Bogatzky
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’ You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, ‘If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.’” —James 4:13–15