Open Mouth, Insert Foot

As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to Him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters — one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) Luke 9:33

Ever find yourself saying the wrong thing, at just the wrong time? Never fun, is it? Peter had a tendency to spill exactly what was on his mind. This meant sometimes he was spot on with what he said, sometimes he was way off, and other moments physically putting his foot in his mouth would actually have been more constructive than carrying on the conversation. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus praises Peter and says he’s blessed, but just a few verses on down, Peter puts his foot in his mouth (again) and Jesus has to knock him down a peg (Matthew 16:17, 23). Sounds like most of us, right? Striding along confidently for God one minute, then falling over our own feet the next.

Well, God gave out some pretty good advice that could help us all. When Jesus, Moses and Elijah were having a mountain-top meeting with Peter, James and John, Peter got pretty carried away, babbling on and on at Jesus. God dropped in, and intervened by saying, ‘This is My Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him’ (Luke 9:35). They were all speechless after hearing that. We can all use a bit of redirection sometimes. That ‘listen to Jesus’ refocus can be a make or break thing. The more you listen to God, the less you’ll say things that He wouldn’t want.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to listen more to You and talk less. In Jesus’ Name, Amen