Steadfast Day 5: 2 Peter 1:12-15

Read 2 Peter 1:12-15.

Ponder

There’s a small section in my daily planner titled “Don’t Forget!” I use it to jot down doctor’s appointment reminders, dinner plans, and, every once in a while, a list of things to grab at the grocery store on the way home from work. 

But if I were using that space to remind myself of the things I forget the most, it would probably contain fewer reminders like “Don’t forget to buy lettuce!” and more truths from Scripture. Because often, the things I most easily lose sight of in the busyness of my daily life are the spiritual. 

Don’t forget …

He will never leave you or forsake you. 

You are deeply loved. 

The gospel changes everything. 

When we are faithless, he is faithful. 

That the most important things in life are the ones with eternal value. 

Sometimes, the hardest seasons are the ones God uses to refine, shape and prepare us for what’s next. 

When Peter was writing this second letter, he recognized that the end of his life was near, and he wanted to remind his readers about what was most important. “I will always remind you,” he wrote in verse 12, followed by “I think it is right … to wake you up with a reminder” in verse 13. In other words, “I don’t have a lot of time for niceties and dancing around the issue. The defining focus of your life is Jesus. Spend your time growing in faith and knowledge of him. Seek to become more like him with everything you’ve got. He’s what matters.” 

Peter seemed to recognize, though, that like those early believers we sometimes forget that vital truth. We get caught up in the day-to-day of life, the endless schedule of games, practices, who needs to be picked up when. The day-in, day-out of work, the latest news story and the things the world says are most important. And sometimes, it’s the lure of sin or, in the case of Peter’s original recipients, the alluring promise of a not-quite gospel that pulls us away from what’s most important: knowing Jesus. 

“There’s going to be a day when you need a wake-up call,” Peter seems to be saying, “a time when you need a reminder of what truly matters.”

Sometimes, that wake-up call comes while reading Scripture, during a sermon or Bible study. Maybe the Holy Spirit has nudged you during prayer or in a conversation with a Christian friend. But the truth of the matter is that we all get distracted sometimes. We all find ourselves pursuing the things the world says are important, the things of lesser importance. We all fall victim to the lies Satan likes to tell, about ourselves, about our worth and, most of all, about God himself and what he has done to save us through Jesus. 

Maybe today is your wake-up call. Are you living your life focused on the most important thing or are you drawn away in a thousand different directions by things of lesser importance? Let Peter’s words wake you up so you can take a fresh look at the gospel, and by its shining glory dispel any false teaching or lies of the Devil that would lead you away from the truth. 

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Journal

Consider these questions: 

• Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any ways you have wandered away from the most important goal of knowing Christ. Confess anything he reveals that is keeping you from growing in faith and knowledge of Jesus. 

• Think about a time when you experienced a wake-up call. What did you learn from that situation? How did God remind you or call you back to the most important things? 

• Consider your journey of faith. What are the things—beliefs, ideas, practices, sins, feelings, etc.—that most often lead you away from Jesus and what’s most important? What steps can you take to be more aware of these things and have a plan to refocus when you recognize you’re off track? 

• Is there a friend or fellow believer you know who needs a wake-up call or a loving reminder of what’s most important? How can you lovingly and gently point them back toward the truth this week?