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leave Peter; rather, he made this declaration: ‘Don’t be afraid; from<br />
now on you will fish for people.’ Then Peter and his partners, James<br />
and John, ‘pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed<br />
him’ (Luke 5:8–11). Peter was then chosen to be one of Jesus’ 12<br />
closest disciples, even part of an inner core of three, and quickly<br />
became the spokesperson for the group.<br />
Jesus clearly believed in Simon Peter and his future call in a way<br />
that he himself didn’t yet do so, speaking a word of new identity over<br />
him (‘rock’) before Simon Peter consistently demonstrated any ‘rocklike’<br />
qualities. While Peter was more aware of his sinfulness and<br />
failings, Jesus was thinking of his future destiny.<br />
This is so important and so powerful. It’s well known that words of<br />
affirmation from an authority figure can be key to individuals achieving<br />
great things in life. Sadly, the reverse is also true: demeaning words<br />
can damage.<br />
PAUSE AND PONDER<br />
Take a moment to consider what words have been spoken<br />
over you that have helped shape you, either for good or for<br />
bad. If there are any particularly negative words that you<br />
know have had a hold over you, ask Jesus to break the<br />
power of them in his name, to remove their impact from<br />
your life.<br />
Peter’s road to freedom was very much a journey, in which he<br />
vacillated between moments of great boldness and brilliance, and<br />
moments of great fear and folly! His life descended to a particular low<br />
point in the events leading up to the crucifixion, when he denied even<br />
knowing Jesus out of fear (see below). It’s often been said that the
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