2 Peter 1:5 Add to your faith virtue.
Read 2 peter 1:3-8.
Life breaks up into little segments, like pieces broken off a loaf of bread. For each of those pieces of life, so to speak, you and I must form the habit of trusting the Lord Jesus Christ with the same abandonment we demonstrated when we came to Him for salvation. In today’s text the Apostle Peter lists some of the things we are to add to our faith, the first of which is virtue.
When my daughters were very young, our family went to a restaurant to celebrate a special event. We looked at the various entrées on the menu. Almost at once I saw what I wanted, and so did Mother and our oldest daughter. But our youngest daughter, only about four at the time, was uncertain. To tease her a little, I took the big menu, put it under her face, and said, ‘OK, Dearie, what would you like?’ Her eyes filled with tears and she looked up at me and said, ‘Papa, I just want what you want!’ Well, at that point she could have had the whole world with a pink ribbon around it!
You know, God is waiting for the very same declaration from you and me: ‘Father, I just want what You want.’ That is virtue, and we obtain it by faith. Virtue is the quality of being spontaneously good, goodness that goes beyond the hope of reward. How do you achieve it? Simple. When the Lord Jesus Christ has control of your life, then His desires become yours. The psalmist exclaimed, ‘I delight to do Thy will, O my God. Yea, Thy law is within my heart’ (Ps. 40:8).
Small thought here. There is a dynamic principle at work within the believer’s heart. Paul identifies it: God works in you to will and do His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). To will — that’s the want-to. To do — that’s the power. God does both for you when His will is your highest priority.
This devotional was written by Dr. Robert A. Cook. You can subscribe to his free email articles at Walk With The King Today and listen to his Spirit-filled 15-minute messages. Used with written permission.
