Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance. Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Luke 22:54-55 (NKJV)
Peter was one of the Lord’s faithful followers. But here, he distanced himself from the Lord. He followed, but he followed at a distance.
Have you ever done that? Are you doing it right now? Maybe not in every area of your life but perhaps in one area?
I started following the Lord at a very early age. I went to church, read my Bible, memorized Scripture. I was a faithful follower, and yet I had one area of my life that I hadn’t fully committed to Him. When it came to how I viewed my body and how I cared for it, I followed the Lord at a distance. I kept this area to myself. I closely followed other people and their plans. That path was littered with frustration, insecurity, and loneliness. But when I decided to surrender what I wanted – a smaller body – and draw closer to the Lord, I gained confidence, peace, and clarity about the direction I was going.
You, too, can live a confident life. When you choose to follow the Lord closely – to surrender what you want because it’s become corrupted by worldly influence – He will guide you. The path before you will be clear. I know it can feel scary to surrender it all to Jesus. To surrender my approach to fitness, I had to let go of control. Anyone who has tried to lose weight knows that it’s all about taking control and having self-discipline. But is it really? Or is that what we’ve been led to believe? I thought I had control when I was counting calories, weighing in regularly, spending an hour or more working out every day, and white-knuckling my way through the week. But that control was just an illusion. Everything else was out of control. I had no peace and no confidence. While it might have seemed that I had my physical health under control, my mental health was suffering, and I wasn’t as strong as I could be spiritually.
When I decided that I wanted more of the Father and that I didn’t want to follow at a distance any longer, the Lord led me to freedom. As a result, I learned how to live fit and free. You can live fit and free, too!
Action Step
Have you been following the Lord at a distance? Which area of your life have you kept to yourself? Are you ready to let the Lord update the latest version of you? You can draw near to Him today by surrendering it all. When you follow closely, the Lord will be faithful to guide you on the right path.
{This devotion was adapted from one with the same title that can be found in my book When I’m Running: Finding Money and Meaning.}
