Walk Carefully

Ephesians 5:15 "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,"

To walk circumspectly means to walk carefully and to not take risks. As we make our way through this world, there are many dangers a Christian can get caught up in. The Bible gives us several warnings about the way we walk. If we don't walk carefully, we can give place to the devil, grieve the Holy Spirit, or give in to sin, whether it's known or unknown.

A good example of this is a study of Peter before he denied Jesus in the courtyard where Jesus was being tried. Earlier that evening Peter was sitting around the table with Jesus and the other eleven disciples and declared, "Even if all these forsake you I will never forsake you."

How do you go from that kind of confidence to denying Jesus in the same night? The answer is by not walking circumspectly. Let's take a closer look.

First, Peter was overconfident. The Bible says to take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall. When he declared he would not deny Jesus, he had already been told that morning that he would deny Jesus not just once, but three times. Rather than walking carefully, he blew off the warning as ridiculous. This was his first step to denying Jesus.

Second, Peter was prayerless, or at least he was not driven to prayer. Jesus had taken Peter into the garden with Him to seek the Father in prayer. Jesus went about a stone's throw away and prayed. When he returned, He found Peter asleep and told him, "Pray, lest you enter into temptation." It was a risk to sleep and not pray -- a risk that would not pay off.

Third, when the guards came into the garden, Peter pulled a sword and fought to rescue Jesus. He relied on his flesh to try to accomplish the things of God. That's never a good idea. The end result was Jesus rebuking Peter and cleaning up his mess. Walking by the flesh instead of the spirit is not walking circumspectly.

Next we learn that Peter followed Jesus at a distance. At least he was following Jesus, but it is always a mistake to not stay close to Him. To walk carefully, we must stay close to Him.

Finally, Peter found himself sitting with the enemies. It was a brisk night and Peter sought the warmth of a fire. The problem was the fire is where the enemies of Jesus were gathered. And this is where they asked one of the questions that led Peter to deny Jesus by saying, "I don't know the man." Peter was someplace he should not have been, and his carelessness cost him.

At that point Peter looked across the courtyard and made eye contact with Jesus. Peter's heart broke and he went outside and wept bitterly.

May we learn from the mistakes Peter made by not walking circumspectly. May we never find ourselves outside the gate with bitter tears running down our faces.

Blessings,

Robert Furrow