Responding to God

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises.
2 Peter 1:5a, NLT*

“In view of all this” refers to what Peter says in verses 3 and 4 about the abundance of what God has given to those who have received Him. God’s promises are “great and precious” and they’re what enable us to draw nearer to God and to escape the corruption around us (v. 4).

How do we respond to God’s promises? And do we truly “make every effort”?

I think part of responding is discovering and relying on His promises. Believing them. Each of those actions require work, but Peter assures us in verse 4 that we’ll benefit from this work.

Verses 5b – 7 give practical life advice that we can only obey if we’re relying on God’s promises to be all we need. We certainly can’t do this in our own strength.

Why does it matter?

We’ll grow, and be productive and useful (v.8). We won’t forget what God has done for us (v.9). We’ll prove our faith is real, and staying focused will keep us from drifting from God (v.10). There will be a reward (v.11).

I think just growing deeper into the abundant life God gives will be reward enough.

God our Deliverer and Redeemer, on our own we can’t stay spiritually focused to remember You and Your promises, but this is the sort of prayer we can be confident You want to answer: Give us the desire to grow in relationship with You, give us hearts willing to make every effort to respond to Your promises. Remind us when we forget, and help us to begin again, as often as needed. Your patience is great, and Your mercies are new every morning.

When we think of all that God has done for us, it’s natural to join Kathryn Scott in singing “How Can I Ever Say Thank You?

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

2 thoughts on “Responding to God

    1. Janet Sketchley Post author

      Thanks, Glynis. More and more, I’m aware of not only the benefits of keeping close to the Lord but also the dangers of not doing so. It’s so easy to let distractions slide us away from all we can have in Him.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.