Just When You Think You Have Arrived

John 13:38, "Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice." Jesus knew Peter’s commitment. He never doubted Peter’s love or his loyalty. But Jesus also knew how fickle the heart of man can be.

Here’s what Jesus was saying, “Peter, you think you’ve arrived; you think that you are willing to go all the way; to do what ever it takes. Well, Peter, you haven’t arrived yet. You are at the station and your train is getting ready to pull out on a long, hard learning experience. Peter, you are going to fail. You are going to deny Jesus three times before the morning comes. I know you think you are past the place where you can say a curse word; beyond that place where you can be led astray; beyond that place where you can have a fit of anger; beyond that place where you can be touched by temptation to commit sin; but you haven’t reached that point yet, and tonight it’s going to be proven to you.”

But I really am grateful and I love what Jesus had to say next. Sometimes I think we miss this because of the way that our Bible has been divided in chapters and verses because we often tend to think of a chapter break as a break in the train of thought as though it was a whole new subject.

Listen to what Jesus told Peter next in John 14:1-4, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."

Yes, you are going to fail. No, you aren’t perfect yet. But don’t get discouraged. Though Satan may sift you like wheat, Jesus won’t let you fall if you just keep on going forward. Don’t allow those times of failure to rule your life. Get up, dust yourself off, and walk on in the Lord. Jesus said that we shouldn’t allow failures to trouble us, but that we should our trust in Him and believe in Him. It’s not our righteousness, not our obedience, not our good works that will bring us to our destination; it is the righteousness of Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit that will bring us there. Jesus wants you to be in Heaven with him and he will not allow you to fall unless you turn away and give up.

Your heavenly mansion is already under constructed and probably finished by now. Your place at the table is already set just waiting for your arrival. Heaven’s choir is all assembled just waiting for you to come walking through those pearly gates. A place has been prepared for you, so just keep going and you will make it.

No matter what you do, or where God leads you, or what you may become in this life, you will never arrive at your destination though you live to be 100 years old or more. Nothing in this world is your final destination. Your final destination is that heavenly mansion that has been prepared for you in Heaven.