Not Understanding

And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
(Mar 8:29-33)

Peter is found here in a situation many people find themselves in, not understanding God's plan. He had just stated that he believed Jesus was "the Christ". Peter's view of who the Christ was to be, as with many of the Jews, was totally different than what God's plan for Christ was. The Jewish people were looking for a political-military deliverer. Someone who would make them an independent nation once again. God's will was to send someone to deliver them spiritually!

How often do we look for God to do one thing, when He is really wanting to do something else? We pray and read our Bibles, and are just sure that God is going to do "A", when His will is that "B" happens.

To avoid this, we must do what Peter was not doing in the passage above. We must LISTEN to the Master. Jesus, in describing what would happen, was trying to clear up their misconceptions on what He was there for. Yet Peter, the very one who had just stated that He was the Messiah, rebuked him ?!

Let our prayer be, Lord help me to listen to You!