2 Peter 1Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Merriam-Webster defines the term diligent as:
characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort. I'd like to think this is the most diligent I have been in my life - ever pressing toward the goal or goals as my life's purpose and my Christian walk begin to merge into one major highway.
Remaining diligent takes effort. When you answer God's call and choose His path for your life, there are no promises of smooth roads ahead. I remember when I accepted Christ into my heart at the age of fourteen, my favorite Camp Counselor said, "It won't always be pink bubbles and warm fuzzies, but God will always be there." He couldn't have been more right. It has been a loooooooooooooooooooong road. But God is always faithful.
Are you surrounded by people of little faith? What do you do? What do you do when the bumps in the road are rocking your car around, and you KNOW that God is in control and you keep a hold of the wheel, but your spouse or friends or parents or kids are like back-seat drivers huffing and puffing and doubting and sulking and absolutely driving you crazy???
It's bound to trip you up a bit. It may even take the wind out of your sails. You feel beaten, downtrodden, maybe sad and frustrated, but way down deep inside you remember that "God is in control. He'll bring us through this. He always has. He always does. He always will."
From "My Utmost for His Highest":
You have inherited the Divine nature, says Peter (v.4), now screw your attention down and form habits, give diligence, concentrate."Add" means all that character means. No man is born either naturally or supernaturally with character, he has to make character. Nor are we born with habits; we have to form habits on the basis of the new life God has put into us. We are not meant to be illuminated versions, but the common stuff of ordinary life exhibiting the marvel of the grace of God. Drudgery is the touchstone of character. The great hindrance in spiritual life is that we will look for big things to do. "Jesus took a towel...and began to wash the disciples' feet."
There are times when there is no illumination and no thrill, but just the daily round, the common task. Routine is God's way of saving us between our times of inspiration. Do not expect God always to give you His thrilling minutes, but learn to live in the domain of drudgery by the power of God.
It is the "adding" that is difficult. We say we do not expect God to carry us to heaven on flowery beds of ease, and yet we act as if we did! The tiniest detail in which I obey has all the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If I do my duty, not for duty's sake, but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience the whole superb grace of God is mine through the Atonement."
And some how, some way, you stand, because there's nothing else you can do. You wait on God, because there is no other hope. You tune out the negative voices of doubt from inside your head and from out of your family members' mouths.
God will come through. He always has. He always does. He always will.
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