Page 62 - The Remnant Bride

Love, the Wellspring of Courage

M any saints have made an earnest attempt to follow Christ, only to fall short and grow
weary in the pursuit. The reason for their failure is often that they are relying upon

their own human strength to follow Yahshua. Personal resolve and self-discipline are the
wells they are drawing from. These are insufficient, however, to take them where they desire

to go.
In the lives of Peter and John, we are given a picture of two men drawing strength

from two different sources. The outcome for each man is quite different.
Peter, in his early walk with Christ, is a clear example of a man who is following Christ,

relying upon his own discipline and resolve to get him through. It took courage to be a
disciple of Christ. The 12 disciples were well aware of the enmity of the Chief Priests, the

Scribes and the Pharisees. They understood that many would like to see Yahshua dead. As
Yahshua’s closest associates, this put their lives in peril. Courage was required for these

men to continue on with Yahshua.
Shortly before His crucifixion, Yahshua explained to the disciples what was about to

befall Him. He told them that they would all fall away because of Him. Peter, confident in
his resolve and ability to stay the course, told Yahshua that even if all others fell away, he

would remain steadfast (Matthew 26:33).
This was a very cocky statement for Peter to make. Peter was sitting at the table with

eleven other men who had followed Christ for as long as he had and he was in effect saying,
“My faithfulness exceeds all of theirs, for even if they fail you, I never will.”

There is no doubt that Peter was a man of a very strong will. He was also a courageous
man. He was willing to fight for Christ and put his life on the line for Him. When the mob

came to arrest Yahshua, it was Peter who drew the sword and lopped off the ear of the
servant of the High Priest. Peter’s courage sprang from his own strength, however. His

courage was based upon his reason.
Peter believed that Yahshua was the Son of God. However, he failed to grasp what

Christ’s true mission was. He believed Yahshua would restore the kingdom of David. He did
not understand that Yahshua came to destroy the dominion of Satan over mankind, nor did

he perceive that this overthrow would require Yahshua to lay down His life.
Peter was courageous as long as he understood what was happening. I don’t think that