The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things . . . and to be killed, and to be raised up . . .. And yet Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to you!’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.’”

—Matthew 16:21–23

Not everyone who speaks good things into our lives can be trusted to know God’s will. Even well–meaning people who love us and love God may say things that tempt us away from the hard road necessary to accomplish the Lord’s purposes.

They may say that no bad thing can come our way or that God would never allow us to suffer, but the Word says we will have trials (1 Peter 4:12–13), we will be hated (Matthew 10:22), and we will even be put to death (Matthew 24:9).

The belief that God will not allow difficulty or that a strong faith exempts us from worldly trouble will lead us to turn from him the moment difficulty arises. It creates a false sense of what God promises, so when the hardship comes, we start thinking he has not kept his word. 

If our minds are set on men’s purposes—comfort, prosperity, and health—any contradiction to those things will turn us away from God.

But if our minds are set on God’s purposes, we will be focused on the eternal kingdom (John 18:36). Only from that foundation can we endure the trials of this world with our faith intact (Matthew 24:10–13).

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