Through Suffering, Day 35 Grow through suffering. Read 2 Peter 3:17-18. As Peter is closing this letter, he’s remembering all of the suffering that these people have gone through for their faith in Jesus Christ. He encourages them to continue to grow. Sometimes, when we go through difficult times, we aren’t focused on continuing to move forward. However, growth always happens. Often, growth happens more during challenging times than at any other time. We need to continue to grow. Will we rise to the challenge and see every opportunity that God allows us to go through as a chance to grow in our relationship with him? Growth must continue to…

Through Suffering, Day 34 God’s patience means more salvations. Rrad 2 Peter 3:15-16. While it may be very difficult to be patient and wait on God, we need to remember that God’s patience actually is so that other people may have the opportunity to come to know the saving grace found in Christ. God’s patience means more salvations. Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in our own desires and our own wishes to alter God’s timing, but what we need to understand is that God’s timing is perfect. He delays and is more patient so that others have an opportunity to hear the message of the good news of…

Through Suffering, Day 33 Forward thinking. Read 2 Peter 3;11-14. Thinking back to yesterday’s devotional, we know that all is going to be destroyed. God is going to come and judge the entire Earth and his holiness will prevail. So, knowing that is the case, how are we to respond? The answer is that we are to be constantly looking forward. Our focus must be on what God is going to do and the victory that he will have over everything, not the circumstances we find ourselves in day by day. God is so much more than all of those things. As a result, we can be confident, hopeful, excited…

Through Suffering, Day 32 It will all be laid bare and destroyed. Read 2 Peter 3:10. Just the one verse to focus on today, but what we see here is the culmination of everything that we’ve read up to this point. All the things that people have been so focused on will ultimately be completely and utterly destroyed. God is going to destroy this world. This world is sinful and has been corrupted by all that is not holy, and as a result, God will ultimately destroy everything. While that may sound terrifying, we have hope in Jesus Christ and because of God and through Jesus, all will be made…

Through Suffering, Day 31 What is patience? Read 2 Peter 3:7-8. Most people cringe when you think of patience. Patience is something that you do while you’re waiting for what you want to have happen to happen. However, these verses give a different view of patience. Here we see patience from the perspective of God himself. For the Lord, patience is simply waiting for the right timing of something that you know is going to happen anyway. It is a confident waiting. The Lord knows what is going to happen, and the Lord knows when it’s going to happen. However, he still waits for the appropriate time. That’s patience. When…

Through Suffering, Day 30 The future is set. Read 2 Peter 3:3-7. The end of the world and the future of all time is actually already determined. God is victorious and in the final judgment, he will judge all things. Peter reminds the people that there will be those who will forget that God actually did create everything and has the right to judge everything. They will lead their lives as if there is no accountability, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. Almost 2000 years have passed since Peter wrote these words, yet they are still just as true today. So many people have forgotten all that God…

Through Suffering, Day 29 Your thoughts matter. Read 2 Peter 3:1-2. Reading these verses, we see the reason that Peter wrote these two books to the people in first place. Peter wanted them to remember that they needed to be thinking. He wanted to stimulate wholesome thinking. What we think about matters. Our thoughts are the driving force behind everything that we do, the way we do it, and the way we are motivated by it. What are we telling ourselves today? Are we pouring over scripture and feeding ourselves the word of God so that it is in our minds and on our thoughts throughout every single day. We…

Through Suffering, Day 27 God can do unusual things to get our attention. Read 2 Peter 2:10-16. In these verses, I see a number of people who have grown arrogant about their sin. What we find is that even in those circumstances, God tends to get people’s attention. Peter references a story that is told back in Numbers with a Prophet Balaam. In that case, God spoke through a donkey to get his attention. Is God trying to get your attention today? What is he having to do to get it? What response do we need to make to God today?