Every reason to be joyful

God, true to His promises, has given me all that I need to live for Him. I’ve no reason or excuse to whine, complain, or be dissatisfied. Nor do I have any reason to blame Him for my faltering and failures . . .

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

This wonderful passage follows up with the root of all short-comings — being lax about doing my part:

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” (2 Peter 1:3–10)

Obedience has always been an issue for God’s people. Today’s devotional points to an OT call to obedience in which His people are to rebuild the temple. God tells them to remember the first structure:

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built . . .’”

This was not an easy time. They were told to be strong even though the rebuild would happen because of God’s blessings:

“ . . . But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.” (Zechariah 8:9–13)

The NT affirms how much we need His blessings. He affirms them to us in words like, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places . . . .” (Ephesians 1:3) Then He goes on to describe all that He has done . . .

He chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless before Him.

He lovingly predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ.

He fit us into His will, to the praise of His glorious grace.

We are blessed in the Beloved Christ, redeemed through His blood and forgiven according to the riches of His grace.

He has lavished grace, wisdom and insight to us, making known the mystery of His will.

His revealed His plan to unite all things in Christ.

In Christ we have obtained an inheritance which is our eternal hope to the praise of his glory.

We are sealed with the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:4–14)

These truths are repeated many times so that we will not forget what He has done which enables us to remember what our response must be. We can bless Him because according to His great mercy . . .

“He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

The nitty-gritty is that no matter what is going on, God gives me every reason to be joyful:

“. . . In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:3–7)

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Oh precious Savior, forgive me for letting my mind drift toward the discomfort of trials and my own inadequacies instead of focusing on You and all that You have done. I’ve every reason to be joyful, to have strong hands, and to praise You continually for your marvelous and lavish love and grace.