Garry preached on confirming your calling from 2 Peter 1:3-11 yesterday morning. There, Peter tells us ‘be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.’ The word ‘confirm’ or ‘make sure’ has the idea of a firm foundation or an anchor, something that is bolted down or cemented so it cannot move. God’s supply is available for us: His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). The storehouse is unlocked, but we have to appropriate what has been made available for us.
God’s character should be our goal: we are to ‘participate in the divine nature’ (2 Pet 1:4), looking to mirror His character (see Matt 5:43-48) so that we become mature and complete, ‘attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ’ (Eph 4:11-15). Maturity is about becoming fit for purpose, or suitable, and we do this by adding God’s characteristics to our faith.
As usual, there is the dual combination of our participation and God’s provision. The fruit of the Spirit grow when we crucify the flesh. We have to work with God, participating with Him in this growth of character. Do we view the trials of life as stumbling-blocks or stepping stones? Is our vision focussed only on the problems or on the potential? All things can be used by God for our good, even suffering.
Jesus learned obedience through what He suffered (Heb 5:7-8). We too will have to suffer to develop our characters, for it’s the only way we learn perseverance and patience, but we can be confident in God. As Joseph reminded his brothers, their plans had been to harm him, but God’s plans had been for good (Gen 50:20). We need to work with God to confirm our faith, to give our faith a foundation, to have our characters moulded and shaped to mirror God’s.