DAILY DEVOTIONS:
Feb
21
‘Speaking Truth’
St. Peter Damian
“Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
- Mark 8:33
They were hard things to hear: Jesus’ foretelling of his rejection, suffering and death. Small wonder that Peter criticized him for sharing it all. Who wants to hear that kind of negativity? And Jesus’ teaching that he would rise after three days? How could he expect the disciples to understand what that would mean? Public talk like that could get all of them in very, very big trouble.
The human instinct to survive is strong, and that survival isn’t just physical. It’s also about saying what we think other people want to hear and about not saying things that are going to make people ridicule us or question our sanity. We do well to put aside those concerns and let the Lord speak and act through us as he will, confident in the promise of eternal survival.
Lord, help me to speak your truth without fear.
- Melanie Rigney