Trust God’s Plan

Malchus should have been thankful that Peter was a fisherman and not a swordsman. As the disciples spent time with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, they saw the crowd coming. Peter drew his sword without hesitation and took a swing. Malchus, the high priest’s servant, lost his ear.

Peter was trying to fight a spiritual battle with physical means.

Jesus said to him, “Put away your sword. . . . Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?” (Matthew 26:52–54 NLT).

In other words, “Peter, that is not the way to fight this battle. This isn’t the time for that.”

The Bible tells us, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments” (2 Corinthians 10:4 NLT).

It is also worth noting that Jesus healed the high priest’s servant. Malchus didn’t deserve it. Yet Jesus reached down and healed his ear. That was the last miracle Jesus had ever performed.

You know the rest of the story. Our Lord was crucified. He bore the sins of the world. And He rose from the dead.

For every Christian, there will come a Gethsemane, a place where we realize that our obedience overrules our personal desires. The glory of God becomes more important than our glory and desires, and we say, “Not my will, but Yours, be done.”

Are you at such a place right now? Surrender to the will of God. You will be glad that you did. His plan for you is better than your plan for yourself.