everything we need

I don’t always have life together, but when I don’t, it’s my own fault. God provides generously, and he has never shorted me the things I need.

Peter put it this way, in 2 Peter 1:3-4: “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.”

I don’t lack anything necessary to live well and please God. I have it all. If I don’t live that way, it’s because I didn’t do my part. If I work at knowing God better, then I’ll remember and tap into everything he’s promised me. That’s what Peter reminds me of here, that knowing God and his promise in some mysterious way helps us be more like God and less like this world. 

So on my hard days, I can remember that God has promised that he has a plan to prosper me, and that he’ll work all things together for my good. I can recall his promise to always give me a way out of temptation. I can remember his promise to be a loving God who provides for me. And if I remember those things, then I can live the way God wants me to live. I’ll be able to resist evil desires and escape corruption.

Everything I need, if I just live out what I know to be true about God and what he’s committed to. But I have to have that knowledge to start with. If I’m not spending time reading about him and getting to know him personally, I won’t have anything to fall back on.

As with so many things, it comes back to Scripture and prayer.