Under pressure

"But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail...." Luke 22. 32

It's exam week at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Some will rise to the challenge. Others may crumble under the pressure. Exams bring out the best and the worst. Love it or hate it, testing is an unavoidable reality. It comes to all of us at some point or another, in one way or another.

Which is why it is both touching and reassuring to know that Jesus himself intercedes for us. In anticipation of his betrayal, torture and death, when he had enough on his mind already, Jesus took Simon Peter aside and warned him that Satan himself was about to test him. Then he promised that he would pray that his faith would not fail. It did. But Jesus' commitment to his friend and disciple did not. And so Peter was able to pick up the pieces and fulfil the confidence that his Saviour and Lord invested in him.

This story is in the Bible because it happened and because it is for us too. We shall be tested, sometimes beyond our endurance. But Jesus is praying for us, that our faith will not fail. And when it does, he is there to pick up the pieces because that is the God that he is.

Blessings on all who find themselves under pressure this week. And if you know of someone else who is, please raise them up in your own prayers. That is what Jesus wants because he said to Simon Peter that he should pray for his brothers. We're all in this together!