Hang On

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

The Lord promises He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He loves you with an everlasting love. He supplies all your needs. His grace is sufficient for whatever you face. When you draw close to Him, He draws close to you. There are hundreds of divine promises in His Word! His promises are not dependent upon who you are or what you do. They are true for all His children. Sometimes, however, when you realize the cost of His calling, you pull away. When you pull away, you forsake Him and forsake what He promises. All He desires is for you to love Him, seek Him, and persevere to follow Him. Though you may fail at times―if the desire of your heart is to love and serve Him―His promises will be fulfilled. He knows your strengths and weaknesses, and He knows the areas you need to mature spiritually. When you are stretched for His sake, you receive what He has promised.

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, even though Peter would deny him, Peter would also be filled with His Spirit and power. God's choice of Peter is encouraging. Choosing a weak Peter to follow Him encourages that you, also, can be used for God's service. Take heart. No matter what your struggle or your area of weakness, God knows your potential. He extends love and forgiveness throughout your life so that you may achieve it. Peter, as a result of God's grace, 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, (NIV). 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. But you must “let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4, NIV). Persevere! Hang on! Don't give up! Seek Him and abide in Him! You will receive what He has promised!

© 2018 Lynn Lacher

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