Do I Have What it Takes?
Written by Cami Bunting in Union City, New Jersey
I’ve found God and believe that in Jesus is my hope of salvation. I want to live my life in his service and to his glory. But do I have what it takes to be a life-long disciple and a soldier of Christ? I see my own ignorance and weakness, the obstacles in front of me and my regretful past, and I wonder if I can do it. At some point in our lives, I think we’ve all asked this question and doubted our ability to remain loyal and be brave. When I look at myself and my service, too often it’s not a valiant soldier that I see.
Let’s look at the narratives of two men in the Bible, Moses and Peter. We would call them great men of faith and bold leaders. We know they were valiant soldiers for God. Neither of them started out that way. What brought about the difference?
Moses was raised as a son in Pharaoh’s house. But he knew his people were the Israelites, and he chose to leave the comfort of Egyptian royalty to identify with them (Heb 11:23-38). Moses and the Israelites knew God had promised to give Abraham’s descendants their own land - and to make them into a great nation. How distant that promise must have seemed, however, as the Israelites continued in slavery and Moses, a fugitive, fled the land.
God spoke to Moses from a bush that was burning but would not be consumed. God revealed himself to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and told Moses that he had heard the cries of his people and had chosen Moses to lead them out of slavery. Moses showed no willingness or bravery - he questioned and made excuses and pleaded for God to find someone else. But, God worked with Moses. He showed him signs of his power. He gave him instructions for the task and the support of his brother Aaron (Ex 3:1-4:17).
When the first days in Egypt only made the Israelites’ lives worse, Moses questioned God and his own ability. But day by day, Moses obeyed God’s instructions and witnessed the power behind his word. As God brought the plagues, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, but Moses’s heart was emboldened. Moses did indeed lead God’s people out of the land of Egypt. At what was their most dire moment - the Red Sea before them and the full Egyptian army behind them, Moses spoke to the people:
“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today…” Exodus 14:13-14
In the following years, as this new nation wandered in a wilderness, Moses led, guided, judged and interceded for them. The valiant Moses who stood on the mountain and addressed the Israelites just before they entered the promised land was not the doubting, excuse-making man he had been in Midian.
Consider Peter, one of the twelve disciples, later the apostle who preached the first message of Christ’s Kingdom. Unlike Moses, Peter was eager to join Jesus. We don’t know how much teaching Peter had heard, or how many miracles he witnessed, but when Jesus approached him and said “follow me,” that’s what Peter did, leaving his life behind (Matt 4:18-19).
Peter was enthusiastic, convicted, and passionate. When Jesus asked the disciples if they, like so many others, would leave him, Peter answered, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). When Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter declared him to be “the Christ, the son of the living God” (Matt 16:16).
However, Peter was not yet ready for the job ahead of him. Peter, like so many in his world, was misguided about what God’s promised revival of Israel would be, and what kind of king Jesus was. But Jesus worked with Peter. Jesus taught him, rebuked him, and was patient with his missteps and gaps in faith. Peter continued in service, hearing daily the message of hope and salvation.
In faith, Peter asked to walk to Jesus on a raging sea, but then looked at the waves around him and began to sink (Matt 14:28-31). Peter declared, too, that Jesus would not be killed, blind to the true mission of the Christ (Matt 16:21-23). He vowed that Jesus would never wash his feet, ignoring Jesus’s example of a servant (John 13:8). He vowed to die with Jesus but couldn’t even stay alert enough to comfort him in the garden (Matt 26:33-35, 40). He, quite bravely, but still misguidedly, took arms against the mob that came to take Jesus. But when Jesus didn’t resist and the battle seemed to be lost, Peter was afraid, ran away, and even denied that he knew Jesus (John 18:10; 15-27). A few days later, Peter ran to see the empty grave, and witnessed the fulfillment of the promise Jesus made to rise on the third day (John 20:1-10).
Then on the day of Pentecost, after receiving the message of the Holy Spirit, Peter addressed the crowd and began to boldly proclaim Jesus as “both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). He preached this message to his Jewish brethren, to the hard-hearted and threatening rulers, and, at God’s bidding, to a gentile Roman soldier and his household. The same Peter who had run away in fear was now willing to suffer persecution with joy and wrote a poignant letter telling us to do the same (Acts 5:41; 2 Pet 4:13-14).
What changed these men? The Lord did. They continued a daily relationship with God. They listened to His word, obeyed His commands, witnessed His power in their lives, and trusted more and more in His power and His plan. This is our hope: a daily, growing relationship with God, listening, obeying, trusting. Finding that our own weakness and will is giving way to His power and plans.
Now, I know the answer to “Do I have what it takes?” is no - not in myself. But I can valiantly declare, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).