Empowered!

Empowered!

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 2 Peter 1:3 KJV

When I want to claim a promise by God, I have to know and understand the context and conditions attached to the promises. God is not a magician, but he is invested in the Iives of all who trust and surrender to Him. Yes, he sends rain to everyone, good or bad, but there is a higher level of relationship that God is fully invested in. The verses before today's extract gives an insight into that higher level: 'to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ'. Those are the ones who can claim the promises of today's extract. 

We did not obtain it by the balance in our bank account, or as a result of the circle of influence in which we operated. We did not earn it by sweat or perspiration or labour, but by the righteousness of God. His love was given freely to all men, and all who respond to the love earn all that Jesus is. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that is now at work in the lives of all who believe in Jesus. That power has not lost its efficacy since creation, and it continues to impact the world till today. 

Why do I need that power today? All that I need for life and Godliness are secured by that power. Interestingly, that combo is important: God wants me to enjoy the benefits and blessings of earthly life, and at the same time, benefits and blessings of Godliness also. God did not create me to just live and exist, and then waste away in eternity. His gifts and investments in me are too valuable to just be for this earth alone. All that he does and gives is that I keep an eye on eternity while making impact on earth. His gifts are to bless the earth, while the service is just but a taste of eternity. 

If I need resources then to enjoy life, the source is God. If I need resources to walk with and work for God, the source is still God. If I want my life to count for something, and I want to draw the hearts of men to God, the secret is still God. God lies at the heart of all that I am and all I can ever hope to become. He has to be the inspiration behind my perspiration, otherwise, I would labour in vain. Nothing catches God by surprise, so no demand of mine can catch him by surprise. He formed me, so he is fully aware of all my thoughts and desires, even before I express them. All that I need to be all that He desires, so that I can achieve all that he desires are to be found in him. The world cannot equip me for an assignment it did not inspire, and it can't also stop an assignment whose target and purpose it cannot define. 

That is the focus of the last part of today's extract: him that has called us to glory and virtue. There is a call of God on every human life but the blessings described here are for those of us who have answered the call. The one who calls is the one with the power to do all that he has promised. There is a glory that is both present now and also expected. There is a virtue that flows out from God into the life of all who know him, and then out from them to touch the lives of men on earth where they have been planted. That is why the light of Jesus in a man's life can't be ignored; men must respond to it one way or another. For me, the question then is: do I even know what I have been called out of and into? Have I had a very personal encounter with that power or is all I have just old stories? Nothing can take the place of that personal encounter; it is the basis of earthly impact and eternal life. God's time of favour is here.