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TEAM TALK
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Have you felt the pain inflicted by the Lord?
He said to him the third time, "…do you love Me?" —John 21:17
Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the
most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emo-
tions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. “Peter was grieved be-
cause He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ ” Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the
center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient ques-
tioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived
again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emo-
tional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement
he simply said, “Lord, You know all things….” Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and
there was no need to say, “Look at this or that as proof of my love.” Peter was beginning to discover
within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on
Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until
the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me
to myself.
Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks ques-
tions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner
where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more
deeply than our words can ever say.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
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