Where Else Would We Go?

Has anyone ever asked you what one verse in the Bible speaks to you the loudest? If you could say in one verse what your faith is built on, what verse would that be? I have heard people refer to it as their life verse. Mine is John 6:68 where Peter exclaimed, “Lord, to whom would we go? Only You have the words of eternal life.”

In this story in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, crowds were following Jesus. They had recently witnessed Jesus feed 5000 men (not counting women and children) with a boy’s lunch. Jesus, knowing their hearts, began to challenge them as to why they were following Him. He knew they only wanted bread to eat and hoped He would supply it again.

Then He made a very difficult statement to understand. Jesus told them His flesh was the true bread and unless they eat His flesh and drink His blood, they could not be His followers. Wow, that must have been hard for them to understand!

I have heard that statement called a “hard teaching”. Jesus teaching at the Last Supper had not happened yet. People of that day had never had communion as we do. They had no reference point to help them understand His meaning. Most of the crowd left because they could not understand. Jesus probably sounded crazy to them. When Jesus turn to His Disciples and asked them if they too were going to leave Him, Peter made the statement that has become the rock foundation of my faith. “Lord, to whom would we go? Only You have the words of eternal life.”

Those words ring like crystal to me. Only our Lord has the true words that lead to eternal life. Any other words might seem right, but when passed through the filter of scripture they are not crystal. I assume Peter and the rest of the Disciples were as confused as the crowd. However, they had something going for them the rest did not. They knew Jesus would never lead them wrong and they believed in time He would help them understand. After all, as Peter said to Jesus, “Only You have the words of eternal life.” Where else would we go?

So where do we go? Where do we turn when we are unsure and needing direction? Paul wrote in one of his letters, “Test the spirits”. If you take any thought or situation that is facing you and “test it” you will know if it is from God or the enemy of your soul. Think about how it makes you feel; comfortable or uncomfortable, lovingly convicted or harshly condemned, confused or clearly understand. If you let the Spirit help you discern, the “voice” speaking to you it is obvious.

So, what happens if the answer isn’t obvious as with the Disciples in this passage? I believe there is a simple answer to that. If God is directing you to do something, He will make it clear. Satan is the master of confusion, not God. I have a simple rule I use, if you don’t know what to do, do nothing. Our God will make it clear if He needs you to step into a situation.

Where else would we go for guidance? I can’t imagine.