Hope in the Sand
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” - 2 Peter 1:3
Social activities wear me out. At heart, I’m perfectly happy with a pile of library books, a garden to wander and my loyal cat named Couch by my side. While I want to connect with others and be involved in their lives, I often have little energy for it, grow impatient with shallow interactions, and sometimes just don’t see the point. I start to feel dug out, scraped clean of resources to offer. There are so many people with so many needs, and only twenty-four hours in a day. Do I invest in my family and grow my relationships with them? Do I connect with fellow believers to strengthen our bond and get fed in my faith? Should I open my home to the unbelievers I know to share God’s love? While I sit here making these decisions, or not making them, my time ticks away – the sand of an hourglass.
Even if you’re not a homebody like me, my guess is that you’ve got at least one relationship in your life that tries your patience. I know I do, and this has resulted in many “failures” on my part, some of which I still remember and regret. Slowly I’m learning that the wider the gap is between me and perfection, the more room I can give God to reveal His love.
2 Peter 1:3 is a verse that has encouraged me many times, and yet I still feel like I can’t grasp the full implications behind it. It says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
The phrase “divine power” makes me think of a blinding light, a glowing white robe, an explosion on a mountaintop. Big things. Amazing things! What I also need to remember is that this divine power has the ability to solve “small” problems too. It can help me just...be okay. I don’t need to be overwhelmed. God’s power is there for me. I don’t need to be discontent. God’s power is there for me. I don’t need to be stressed about the people in my life. God’s power is there for me. I don’t need to worry where I should direct my time and energy. If I ask Him, God will tell me. And my guess is that he’ll even give me more energy to handle it all. If I am a hole, dug into the sand, it doesn’t matter how deep I get. When the tide comes in it will fill me to overflowing and hide my imperfections completely. All I need to do is remember this power is mine.