Jewish people in Jesus’ days were familiar with war and the instruments of war. Their rulers were ruthless and sadly, every almost generation had its share of defeat in the hands of their enemies. Even some of Jesus’ immediate followers were zealots – a group set on venging the Romans. But Jesus had a different kind of war in mind. The one that demanded a new set of equipment invisible to the mere man. He was fighting a spiritual war, in a spiritual sphere.
Simon and his cohorts would later learn the spiritual battle but they had to fail first to capture the magnitude of what they were going to fight upon Jesus’ departure. As he was preparing for the atrocity of the cross, he warned his disciples of the dangers ahead. He broke the news. “You will all desert me.” With their zeal and hatred for the Romans and love for Jesus, they made vows to follow Jesus to their death. Jesus, on the other hand, had seen this movie before. He knew who and what he was fighting. He was aware of Satan and his schemes. He had faced him in the Garden, throughout the history of God’s people and most recently, Satan’s 40 days of temptation in an attempt to destroy the coming of the kingdom failed. So Jesus was ready and had the right mind, tools and skills required to win.
Inspiringly and equally assuring, Jesus took it to another level of love, grace and compassion.

Simon, Simon, how Satan has pursued you, that he might make you part of his harvest. But I have prayed for you. I have prayed that your faith will hold firm and that you will recover from your failure and become a source of strength for your brothers here. Luke 22:31-32 (The Voice)

This kind of love, attention, vision and grace are a higher calling for me. In our modern lingo, we will say Jesus told Peter to fail forward. That his failures will serve and impact others. The focus was no longer about the denial of Jesus or Peter’s struggles but the godly outcome of the failure. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we handled sin with such maturity and humility?”

How did Jesus see all these miles away? Weel, he had a connection with God stronger than whatever Satan had for him. This connection fueled his resolve, enabling him to persevere and trust God’s deliverance. Simon also had the connection but a weaker one or untested at best. In his humanity, Simon was capable, passionate, bold and always ready for battle but he brought the wrong sword for the wrong battle.
Peter was untested, unprepared, and lacking the foresight to grasp the magnitude of the spiritual battle and how Satan had every intention to thwart God’s redemption plan.
Are you fighting the spiritual battle? Do you have the right tools? What sword do you bring to the battle: the sword of self-reliance or sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God? (Ephesians 6:17)

Have you started a journey you knew it had failure written all over it? I remember when the staff took a bunch of rich private high school students on a ski trip. As one of the staff, I was supposed to be adept, a semi-pro skier but it was far from reality. I had skates and dabbled a bit and nothing more. Actually, I hadn’t tried skying before but I was convinced a little 30 minutes lesson as the base of the mountain is all I needed to learn to ski down the mountain. I rented my gear and hoped they were right. Wrong! But I wanted to fit, try it, and cross it off my bucket list. 

So after a few simulations and instructions, I set off to try my new-found skills. Every second on the lift was filled with fear and unlimited permutations of what could happen and I knew was bound to happen. The students and my fellow staff jumped off the lift with the enthusiasm of kids in the proverbial candy store. They snaked their way down with ease while I waited to ensure I don’t embarrass myself. I followed but for a brief moment. My fear was tenfold my skills so I forced myself to fall a few yards away from the top of the hill and shamefully crawled my way up. The lift operator radioed for support and before I knew it, I was on my way down on the lift. My day as over. No skills. I sat at the chalet and it was one of the longest days of my life.

Unlike my ski experience, God shows us how to thrive. He’s given us the failure-proof skills we need to become like him, live and love like him. He didn’t call us to fail and his instructions are deeper, complete, tailored individually and he tags along the trip up and down the mountain. As the master designer, he knows how much each one of us can support before we fall or give up. 

The time we put in to excel in sports and our hobbies makes us better and we love the growth, the progress, the perseverance. Is this true in your spiritual life? Are you growing in your Divine Skills? Are you dull? Unkillsed?

If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened,

more strength is needed, but skill will bring success. 

Ecclesiastes 10:10 (NIV)

Divine Skills start from our awareness of God, our love for him and adopting his mindset. Yes but how? 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 

Mark 12:30 (NIV)

This is the starting point and the most pivotal. 

This means loving God daily, sharpping your ax daily. Listening to his voice daily. This passage helps you measure all the marks of discipleship. Loving God with every bit of your being gives you the strength and skills required to draw closer to God and people. It helps you master life and the inverse is equally true – the less you love, the more unskilled you become. With God’s instructions in mind and at hand, victory is assured.