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Satan's Favorite Tool

"As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and told him he shouldn't say things like that.  Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then said to Peter very sternly, 'Get away from me, Satan!  You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's'" Mark 8:32-33 (NLT).

We are Satan's favorite tool.  That's right, us - - if we allow it to happen.  If he can, Satan will use us to discourage others from doing God's bidding.  He used Peter.

Jesus had just related to his disciples that he had to suffer and die.  He also said he would rise again, but all his disciples heard was the part where he said he would suffer (See Mark 8:31).  Upon hearing this, Peter pulled Jesus aside and rebuked him. 

I'm sure from Peter's point of view Jesus' prediction of his sufferings seemed nonsensical.  It seemed illogical and wrong.  After all, who wants to condone crucifixion?  Who wants to think that it might be God's will for someone we love to suffer?  We ask ourselves, "How can this be?  Would not a loving God refuse to allow his beloved child to suffer?"

Certainly, this is what Peter must have thought and felt.  But as logical as his point of view seems, it was wrong.  Even worse, it was Satanic.  The Evil One was using Peter to discourage Jesus from accomplishing the mission God sent him to accomplish; and that mission included his terrible suffering and death.  In fact, without Jesus' death, no one could be saved at all since his death paid the penalty for our sins in full.

We must be very careful not to be a hindrance to God's work.  We must learn to see things from God's point of view.  You see, from God's point of view the salvation of the world was worth the suffering and death of his son, even though from a human point of view this was unthinkable.  But Peter's failure to see things from God's perspective led to bad decision-making and to actually becoming Satan's tool for a time.

We, too, can become Satan's tool and make bad decisions if we don't see things from God's point of view.  Interfering with the discipline of children; not allowing adult children to feel the consequences of their bad choices; discouraging a friend or family member from sacrificing anything for the kingdom; hindering God's clear call on someone's life - - actions like these can make us like Peter - a tool in Satan's hands.

I once knew a brother who desired to become a missionary.  For years he knew this was God's clear calling on his life.  He felt called to Mexico to preach the gospel to lost people there.  But his wife did not wish to become a missionary.  She wanted to stay where they were so she could be close to her grandchildren.  So anytime the subject would come up, she would take an adversarial stance toward her husband.  She literally prevented him from carrying out God's call on his life.  He ended up retiring without ever obeying God. His wife, though she meant well, was a tool in Satan's hands, hindering God's work. 

If we do not wish to be a tool in the Devil's hands, we must train our minds to see things from God's point of view.  We must ask ourselves: what is God's ultimate purpose?  What is more important to God in this situation?  Clearly, God is more interested in our character than our comfort; our salvation more than our convenience; our eternal destinies more than the ease of our journey.

Seeing things from God's point of view means reading the Bible regularly; sifting its pages; meditating on its message day and night; pondering the profound truths in its verses.  Why?  Because it is in the Bible that God reveals his mind, his thoughts, and his point of view.  If we do not know the Bible and spend little time in it, we will not be able to see things from God's point of view.

If Peter had spent more time reading his Bible, he would have known that the Messiah had to suffer.  Further, he would have taken consolation in the fact that the Messiah would also rise from the dead.  Jesus even told him this.  Had Peter known this, he may have been heart-broken, but he would not have tried to hinder God's work.  Instead, he would have been sitting outside Jesus' tomb on the third day after his crucifixion looking at his watch and waiting for Jesus to emerge!

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