Tuesday, June 20th, 2023

Have you ever felt like you just don’t have what you need in a season of life? I think we all have at various times in our lives. But the way we look at that question determines our answer. If we are seeking a worldly life full of worldly blessings and success, a contentment we feel we’ll receive when all our desires are met – then no, of course we don’t have what we need, nor will we ever! But what if we look at these times differently, seeking what we need for a godly life rather than a worldly life? In that case, Peter tells us, we have all we need. He says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” What does that mean? Peter is saying that we have what we need to live a godly life because we, by faith and Holy Spirit indwelling, can “participate in [Christ’s] divine nature” with the effect being that we “escape” the evils of the world. We don’t escape the circumstances and seasons that we live in by being plucked out of them – for some are sent as tests by the Lord, and others as consequences of our own actions – but we escape the evils of the world, those external pressures and temptations, when we decide to view our circumstances as a way to glorify the Lord in our response rather than as simply something to endure or wallow in. Said another way, if all we do in hard seasons is wish we had more or that we had some sort escape hatch from it, we will never have enough and we will be frustrated by our circumstances because they do not amount to a worldly successful life; but we already have what we need to live a godly life, the kind of life we are called to live, because Christ gives that to us. The godly life is characterized as one whose testimony gives glory to the Lord.

So, to see this in action, look to how Peter continues in verse 5, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Peter says to add to your faith these other qualities in increasing measure, and in doing so, you will not only have what you need, you will not stumble in life in the things that have true value, the eternal things of heaven. So, in hard seasons of life, don’t look to what worldly resources you don’t have that would make life easier but instead, look to how your faithful response and godly living, which we already have in Christ, will bring glory to the Lord and eternal, not just temporal, blessing to you.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”” – 2 Peter 1:3-11