Brent Pollard
Understanding Divine Timing in Your Spiritual Growth
When Jesus spoke of His approaching departure, Peter responded confidently: “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake” (John 13.37). His words carried genuine sincerity. Peter meant every syllable.
Yet Jesus answered with a truth that would echo through Peter’s life and ours: “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you shall follow Me afterward” (John 13.36, NKJV).
Two words changed everything: “Not now.” Peter did not lack courage—he had that. His devotion was not questionable—his heart burned with love for Christ. The issue was readiness, not willingness.
Why Spiritual Maturity Cannot Be Rushed
Peter’s bold words revealed an incomplete understanding of himself and the cross he claimed to embrace. We often think we are further along in grace than we are. Peter experienced this revelation in that moment.
He was willing to die, but he was not ready. The difference between these two states is the crucible of Christian formation.
Christ saw what Peter could not. The work in him, through him, and for him remained. Before Peter could follow Jesus into death, he needed lessons only time could teach and experiences only grace could redeem.
Growing in Knowledge: When Understanding Deepens Through Experience
Peter’s knowledge of Christ needed to grow beyond intellectual assent. It had to become a lived reality. He had already confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”(Matthew 16.16)—words given him by divine revelation. Yet even this truth needed real experience to become a formed conviction.
Peter still did not grasp the necessity of Christ’s death (Mark 8.31-33), the power of His resurrection (Luke 24.11-12), the glory of His ascension (Acts 1.9-11), or the fire of Pentecost (Acts 2.1-4). These were not optional lessons. They were essential to apostolic preparation. The Spirit would lead him “into all truth” (John 16.13), but the journey could not be rushed.
We remain on earth because it is the only place with a curriculum of grace. While heaven offers eternal joys, earth allows us to trust God in darkness, choose obedience without sight, and love Christ though “having not seen Him” (1 Peter 1.8). These are the essential lessons of the school of faith that cannot be skipped: learning to trust, obey, and love Christ while on earth.
Character Formation: How God Refines Us Through Failure
Peter’s character needed refining in the furnace of weakness. He thought he was ready to die, but Jesus knew the denial to come: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (Matthew 26.34). That failure became the moment that changed Peter’s self-confidence into humble dependence.
The Lord can use our failures to cure us of self-sufficiency. Peter denied Christ three times and was restored three times (John 21.15-17). God was not just correcting Peter; He was rebuilding him. The man who claimed he was more loyal than all (Mark 14.29) wrote, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5.6).
Actual readiness for service comes not from our strength but from knowing our weakness and discovering God’s sufficiency in it. Dependence on God, not self, forms the foundation of actual spiritual readiness.
God’s Preparation Has Purpose: Your Growth Blesses Others
God was still preparing Peter, and every lesson he learned later blessed the church. By the Holy Spirit, he wrote two epistles that strengthened millions. His sermon at Pentecost brought three thousand souls into the kingdom (Acts 2.41). His bold testimony before the Sanhedrin declared, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5.29). Peter confessed the truth on which Christ would build His church (Matthew 16.16-18), but he needed time to mature.
What we learn while waiting becomes our wisdom for service. Each trial that teaches patience prepares us to help others in their own trials (2 Corinthians 1.3-4). Each refining fire that purifies us equips us to lead with integrity. Peter’s painful lessons benefited the church.
Our spiritual growth is never merely personal; it is preparation for service—both now and eternally. The character God forms in us determines the impact and reach of our service to others.
From Earth to Eternity: Faithfulness Now Prepares Us for Heaven
Heaven is not idleness but perfected service. Jesus said servants would be made “rulers over many things” (Matthew 25.21), suggesting that faithfulness now prepares us for future responsibilities. God seeks those through whom He can do the impossible, yet we are often distracted by tasks we feel compelled to complete ourselves. Earth is where we learn to partner with the impossible.
The parable of the talents (Matthew 25.14-30) teaches that being faithful in small tasks leads to larger responsibilities. Serving on earth is preparation for greater things ahead. What we develop here—trust in uncertainty, patience in waiting, and obedience in difficulty—equips us for our future roles. Our actions now are training for responsibilities we cannot yet see.
The Promise Fulfilled: Peter’s Courage Matured in God’s Time
After the resurrection, Jesus spoke to Peter with clear words: “When you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish” (John 21.18). Then Jesus gave the invitation: “Follow Me” (John 21.19).
The promise of John 13.36 was explained. Peter would follow Jesus into death. Church tradition says Peter, counting himself unworthy to die as his Lord, requested crucifixion upside down. The man who once denied Christ by a charcoal fire (John 18.18) was restored by a charcoal fire (John 21.9). He would glorify God by a martyr’s death (John 21.19).
Peter’s courage was once premature but matured in God’s time. The boldness always existed. What developed was the brokenness that made his courage usable. God does not waste our willingness—He seasons it until it becomes readiness.
Living in the “Not Yet”: What God’s Delay Teaches Us
God’s “not yet” is not a refusal. It is preparation. When He says “afterward,” He does not diminish our calling but deepens our capacity. There is work to be done—in us, through us, and for us. God may be doing thousands of things in your life, but you know only a few. Trust Him for what you do not see.
Peter’s story makes us face impatience with God’s wisdom. We want instant readiness, but God requires patient formation. We see our willingness. God sees what still needs to be developed. We measure courage by intentions. God measures it by how we endure when tested by fire.
Scripture affirms this pattern of preparation many times. Joseph spent years in slavery and prison before saving nations (Genesis 50.20). Moses spent forty years in the wilderness before leading the Exodus (Acts 7.30). Paul withdrew to Arabia after conversion before his ministry (Galatians 1.17). Even Jesus waited thirty years before public ministry (Luke 3.23).
Waiting is not wasted. Every delay serves a divine purpose. Each period of preparation is designed to teach specific lessons that equip us. Through these lessons, we are shaped into vessels capable of holding and sharing the glory God will reveal through us. Our waiting is purposeful, our learning is tailored, and both are essential for fulfilling what God intends to do through us.
Your “afterward” is coming. In God’s time, when your knowledge deepens, your character is refined, and your readiness matches your willingness, you will follow Him into your purpose. Until then, learn what this moment can teach you. Trust what these trials can develop. Receive what this season alone can give.
The same Jesus who said “not now” to Peter also said “but afterward.” Both words came from the same love, served the same purpose, and led to the same destination: a God-glorifying life and a faithful servant’s death.
When God says “not yet,” He is not closing a door. He is preparing you to walk through it with wisdom, strength, and readiness that He alone can give. The afterward is about more than dying well. It is about living fully in the power of a completed preparation and achieved readiness. When your afterward comes, you will know—as Peter knew—that every moment was worth it for the glory it brought.
Trust His timing. Embrace His preparation. Your afterward is coming, and it will be glorious. Persevere in trust and preparation—God’s timing always leads to fulfillment.
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