Persevere, Grow, and Receive

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10:36, NIV).

God promises He will never leave us. He will never forsake us. His promise is not dependent upon who we are or what we are. All that we must do is accept His will, and make every effort to follow it. He gives us His divine promise that though we may fail at times in striving to accomplish His will, if our heart’s desire is to serve Him, His promise must be fulfilled. He cannot deny what He has done on the cross. If He is our Savior, and we strive to serve Him, His promise will be fulfilled in our lives.

Do you think that when Jesus called Peter to follow Him that He did not know his strengths and his weaknesses? God knew Peter. He knew that despite human weakness, Peter would discover His strength. If you feel weak and lacking in power, remember the Lord chose Peter knowing His potential―knowing that one day He would be filled with the Spirit and with power.

God's choice of Peter is encouraging. Choosing a weak Peter to serve Him encourages us that, we too, can be used for God's service. Take heart. No matter what your struggle or your area of weakness, God knows your potential, too. He extends love and forgiveness along your lifetime of service so that you may achieve it. Peter, as a result of God's grace, forgiveness, and power, discovered spiritual maturity.

“His divine power.” Peter writes, “ 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” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

He has called you to serve Him.... not because of who you are..... but because of who He is. His divine power is available so that through Him, and through His precious promises, you may become more like Him. You can reach a level of spiritual maturity where you are effective and productive in your Christian walk (2 Peter 1:9). But you must “let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4).