Where Else Would We Go?By Aubrey Carrales
“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
John 6:68 (NKJV)
It was a balmy summer afternoon in Texas, and for some reason we thought it would be fun to take our baby and our toddler to a baseball game. We enjoyed the game for a few minutes when my two-year-old declared, “Me need hat!” My husband and I decided that of course, our curly-headed boy needed a baseball hat. We quickly walked to the team store with the baby in tow, bought the only toddler hat they sold, and made our way back to our seats.
A few minutes later, the toddler sweetly looked at us and said, “Me need bat and ball!” At this point his antics were getting comical (and also frustrating), but after some debate, we ended up making another walk to the store to get a little bat and a foam ball. This was one of our first family outings with the baby and we were determined to enjoy it!
We finally made it back to our seats, but as soon as we sat down our little cherub said, “Me be baaaack!” Before we could stop him, he was making a beeline down the steps toward the dugout. Now that our toddler had acquired all the necessary gear, he thought he was ready for the coach to put him in the game! What followed was an epic tantrum- poor kid couldn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to play ball with the team, despite his best effort to get prepared.
Isn’t that life? No matter how hard we work and pray and trust and follow, sometimes things still go haywire. We don’t get the results we want, and we are left feeling confused and defeated. In these moments we have a choice to make- do we give into our emotions, or do we choose to believe in something bigger?
In John chapter 6, Jesus performed perhaps his most famous miracle: the feeding of the 5,000. The next day, Jesus explained the miracle to the crowd and told them He is the true Bread of Life. Many in the crowd were incredibly unhappy to hear this news, as they were on the hunt for material things like actual bread and an earthly king, rather than spiritual things like eternal life through faith in Jesus. As Jesus exposed their motives, many of his followers turned away, since they weren’t getting what they wanted from Him.
Jesus turned to his twelve disciples and asked if they were going to walk away with the others. Simon Peter spoke up and gave such a simple but profound answer: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:68-69 (NKJV)
Preach it, brother! In three simple sentences, Simon Peter boiled it down for us: Jesus is our personal savior and has the words of eternal life.
Where else would we go?
Following Jesus seems like such an obvious choice for those who believe. Of course, we follow Jesus! But when life gives us curveballs, for whatever reason, sometimes Jesus just isn’t our first pick. We’d rather take things into our own hands instead of surrendering to Christ. But as Christians, is there really any other alternative to choosing Jesus first?
When all the world seems against us and it feels impossible to trust and surrender, remember that the Lord has given us the power to choose. We can choose Jesus over the offerings of this world. We can choose joy over our gamut of emotions. We can choose faith over the desire to control. We can count our blessings instead of looking at our disappointments. We can spend time in the Word and in prayer instead of seeking comfort in material things.
And when we do this, we will end up living a life of complete surrender. A life free from worry, a life full of inner peace. The world can’t offer these blessings to us- only Jesus can.
I recently came across a moving story about a woman named Betty Stam. She and her husband were missionaries in China, but they were killed for their faith in 1934. Years before her death, Betty penned a powerful prayer that bears repeating today:
“Lord,
I give up all my own plans and purposes,
All my own desires and hopes,
And accept Thy will for my life.
I give myself, my life, my all,
Utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever!
Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit.
Use me as Thou will,
Send me where Thou will,
And work out Thy whole will in my life,
At any cost, now and forever!”
What a poetic description of complete surrender to Jesus. Everything else seems to fade into the background after praying such a heartfelt prayer. Let’s choose today to be women who turn to Jesus first and always. After all, where else would we go?
Aubrey is a native Texan living her best life in Lynchburg, Virginia. She and her husband have two pre-teen boys, a miniature poodle, and a wonderful community of friends. Aubrey is a homeschool mama, attorney, writer, and she sings at her church. In her free time, you can find Aubrey reading a memoir, puttering in her flower garden, or glamping with her family in their RV.
