For some infants, it takes a lot of time and effort to develop the ability to talk consistently. For some children and adults, it takes a lot of time and effort to develop the ability to stop talking constantly.
Simon Peter was like that. He had no problem blurting out his opinion. Sometimes, it earned him praise. "Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven." Other times, it earned him rebuke. “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s.” You can find both of those in Matthew 16.
Still, Peter did not learn His lesson. In Matthew 17, Jesus takes Peter, James and John with Him up the mountain to witness the Transfiguration. These three see Jesus suddenly changed into His glorified body and having a conversation with Moses and Elijah.
It was such a special moment. Elijah was seeing the face of the One who took him to heaven in a chariot of fire. Moses was able to see the Prophet he had foretold about and stand, for the first time, in the Promised Land. More importantly, the Son of God is standing on this mountain in all His glory. James and John were stunned, speechless and absorbed in the moment. Peter? Well, Peter just had to say something.
"Hey Jesus! Jesus! I know you are having a cool conversation with Moses and Elijah, but that's what I wanted to talk to you about. This is so great. Us, all of us, up here and all. How about we just build some places for you three guys and we just stay up here on this mountain? What do you say?"
Before Peter could finish, God the Father interrupted. Someone was finally able to shut Peter up.
Obviously, the Father was affirming and commending the ministry and teaching of His Son, but it strikes me as a bit humorous that He did so in the middle of Peter talking and concluded by commanding them to listen to Jesus. Is a secondary idea at work there? "I am pleased with and love my Son Jesus. Now Peter, stop talking for just a moment and listen to Him. You might want to remember His words in the future, but you can't hear them if you won't hush."
Has God ever had to shut you up? You just had to express your opinion. You could not resist saying something in the situation. The next thing you know, your words are coming back to haunt you. You spoke when you should have listened silently.
A major part of being a good husband or wife, a good son or daughter, a good friend, a good Christian is learning that sometimes you need to not talk and just listen. Sometimes, you do need to speak up. Often times, however, our immediate reaction, similar to Peter's, is to say something. End the silence. Give our two cents.
How can we actually hear what others have to say, when our minds are focused on what we are going to say next? You are not respecting the other person. You cannot show love to them in that way. You will never learn anything. Living requires listening. Helping requires hearing.
Because of this, sometimes God has to shut us up. He may use His word, circumstances, a sermon, a friend, a spouse or any number of other things to draw our attention to our endless desire to speak and not listen.
A mouth continually speaking without ever listening is like a facet continually running without being connected to water pipes. You cannot pour out, if you do not take in.
Thankfully, when Peter heard the voice of the Father from heaven, he and the other disciples fell on their face. It's hard to talk with your mouth in the dirt, but you can still hear. God may bring us low to remind us to be quiet and listen. We cannot grow in Him without those times.
When did God shut you up? What did you learn from those times?
Simon Peter was like that. He had no problem blurting out his opinion. Sometimes, it earned him praise. "Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven." Other times, it earned him rebuke. “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s.” You can find both of those in Matthew 16.
Still, Peter did not learn His lesson. In Matthew 17, Jesus takes Peter, James and John with Him up the mountain to witness the Transfiguration. These three see Jesus suddenly changed into His glorified body and having a conversation with Moses and Elijah.
It was such a special moment. Elijah was seeing the face of the One who took him to heaven in a chariot of fire. Moses was able to see the Prophet he had foretold about and stand, for the first time, in the Promised Land. More importantly, the Son of God is standing on this mountain in all His glory. James and John were stunned, speechless and absorbed in the moment. Peter? Well, Peter just had to say something.
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| Photo from RGBstock.com by Adrian van Leen |
Before Peter could finish, God the Father interrupted. Someone was finally able to shut Peter up.
Obviously, the Father was affirming and commending the ministry and teaching of His Son, but it strikes me as a bit humorous that He did so in the middle of Peter talking and concluded by commanding them to listen to Jesus. Is a secondary idea at work there? "I am pleased with and love my Son Jesus. Now Peter, stop talking for just a moment and listen to Him. You might want to remember His words in the future, but you can't hear them if you won't hush."
Has God ever had to shut you up? You just had to express your opinion. You could not resist saying something in the situation. The next thing you know, your words are coming back to haunt you. You spoke when you should have listened silently.
A major part of being a good husband or wife, a good son or daughter, a good friend, a good Christian is learning that sometimes you need to not talk and just listen. Sometimes, you do need to speak up. Often times, however, our immediate reaction, similar to Peter's, is to say something. End the silence. Give our two cents.
How can we actually hear what others have to say, when our minds are focused on what we are going to say next? You are not respecting the other person. You cannot show love to them in that way. You will never learn anything. Living requires listening. Helping requires hearing.
Because of this, sometimes God has to shut us up. He may use His word, circumstances, a sermon, a friend, a spouse or any number of other things to draw our attention to our endless desire to speak and not listen.
A mouth continually speaking without ever listening is like a facet continually running without being connected to water pipes. You cannot pour out, if you do not take in.
Thankfully, when Peter heard the voice of the Father from heaven, he and the other disciples fell on their face. It's hard to talk with your mouth in the dirt, but you can still hear. God may bring us low to remind us to be quiet and listen. We cannot grow in Him without those times.
When did God shut you up? What did you learn from those times?
