Greetings Christ Church Missoula!
Grace to you and Peace!
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:2-4
God has given us everything we need to fulfill His purposes for our life. God’s priorities are different from ours. We might have a pretty big list of things we feel we need for this life. But God’s primary concern is that we would escape the corruption that is in the world by being partakers of the divine nature. Not that we become part of God but rather, we become like Him. “Be holy as I am holy.”
God has given us so many gifts that are at work towards this purpose. He has also given us promises to look forward to. It might be easy to doubt God’s promises because people promise us things all the time and often don’t deliver. We have all heard the words, “I promise I’ll do this” or “I promise I’ll do that” and they ring a little hollow as we wonder if they will actually do what they say.
But God has never left any promises unfulfilled. The Scripture is full of His faithfulness to the things He has promised. This gives us so much assurance that He will fulfill the things that have yet to come to pass, that we can actually count them as already fulfilled. With that in mind, we should think about the things He has promised His people: that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), the Holy Spirit will lead us (Acts 1:4); resurrection from the dead (John 6:40), eternal life (John 10:28); and much more.
He also promises us that we will have tribulations. (John 16:33; Acts 14:22) Remember, our priorities are often not in line with His. But He has also promised that everything works together for our good and that we might be conformed to the image of His son. (Romans 8:28-29).
Think about the promises God has made to you in Scripture and rest in His faithfulness.
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn