Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election,
for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:10-11 ESV
“If you practice these qualities, you will never fail.” How encouraging is that?! If I practice virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love, I will never fail in what I do for God.
As someone who has often struggled with a fear of not getting things right, I find huge freedom and release in these words. As I regularly seek to add these qualities to my faith, they will govern my choices. I will stay close to the Lord and do as His Spirit leads. Really, God will be in charge of all I do; how could I possibly fail when I allow Him to act through me?
Wonderful words, indeed!
But I must be all the more diligent to practice these qualities. To be diligent is to constantly put effort into accomplish something or to be attentive and persistent in doing anything. “All the more” means to put in more effort every day.
Ouch! This is convicting. I must admit that I can let life distract my attention from my time spent seeking the Lord. While I am pretty faithful in my morning devotion time, sometimes I let a whole day go by without checking in with Jesus after that. I can’t say that I’ve been putting more effort into this each day.
I’ve recently begun to try to build more time for prayer and Bible into my daily routine to prevent that from happening so often. I’ve had mixed success developing this habit so far, but I’ve found that it helps to add these appointments with God to my calendar. And He helps me to persist when I invite Him into my day.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts! - Psalm 139:23 ESV
Think About:
What new habits can you try to develop so that you can diligently practice these qualities?
What prevents you from being all the more diligent?
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