DAY 4 | An Unguarded Strength

I think I’ve been guilty of moving too quickly through the sequence of events that preceded Peter’s downfall. I often jump from Peter’s bold declaration that he would die for Jesus and never deny him to the rooster crow that signaled his first denial; however, our mistakes don’t just happen all at once. Let’s look closer at the events that led up to this moment in Peter’s life. What if it wasn’t Peter’s weakness that led him to failure but rather his strengths?

“I will never deny you.” - Peter 

Many of us are well acquainted with our weaknesses. We know the things that we lean into when we are not healthy, but we don’t really consider our strengths as places where we can fall short and miss the mark. One of Peter’s strengths was his bold personality. I think that’s part of the reason why Jesus called Peter in the first place—because he could take charge, move quickly, act with passion, and do the things Jesus called him to do without reservation. Jesus wanted this kind of personality on his team. The problem was that Peter never learned how to put a governor on his gift. He never learned how to guard his strength, and an unguarded strength is a double weakness. Nothing can get you into more trouble than your strengths.

Are you a people person? Do you thrive off of the energy of other people? If this strength goes unguarded, you could find yourself thriving not only on the energy of others but also on the acceptance of others, perhaps compromising values and beliefs to fit in with whomever is “in” at the moment. 

Maybe you have a leadership gift and a mind for strategy and vision. What a gift! But if that strength goes unguarded, you may find yourself manipulating people and situations to execute your own agenda rather than championing others’ skills, contributions, and gifts. Then you become a leader with blurry ethical lines, and your unguarded strength becomes a double weakness. 

Perhaps you’re good with money. You could be so good with money that soon all you think about is money—how you can get more, how you can save more. If this goes unchecked, you begin to hoard it instead of giving it, and now you are greedy and not generous. In this instance an unguarded strength becomes a double weakness. Any strength we have that is not surrendered to Jesus can be used as a weapon against ourselves and against others. 

We have to guard our strengths. Because Peter was unwilling to accept the possibility of falling down, he was unprepared for his opportunity to stand up. When we admit that we are prone to failure, that our strengths aren’t strong enough to save us, we find the power to live righteously through Christ.

Scripture says, “Take heed when ye stand, lest ye fall.”

When sin affects our opportunities to use our strengths, a perfect situation can become a perfectly wrong situation.

Have you assessed your strengths and your weaknesses lately?