Today’s Scriptures: Psalm 146:5-10; Ruth 4:13-17; 2 Peter 3:11-18
“Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.” – 2 Peter 3:14-15
My quads were wadded up like crumpled newspaper. I could feel my muscles seizing up from dehydration, and I wondered if I would be able to drag myself off this trail. My race plan and lack of training were failing me. There is no worse feeling than walking up to the race table and withdrawing. I wanted to offer some race-day reasons why I could not complete what I had set out to do, but the reality was that my lack of training and preparation was the real problem.
Peter is encouraging us not to fall into this same trap in our faith. The lack of training was not a single missed session or a bad day on the trail; it was a series of poor decisions and a lack of effort that led to my failure that day. Our faith is the same thing. We will have bad days and make poor choices, but if we continually work out our salvation and keep our eyes fixed on Christ daily, we will be ready when he comes again.
The goal in running and in our faith should be to beat yesterday’s effort. In faith, we can do this by challenging ourselves daily to develop the virtues that Christ called us to—loving God and loving our neighbors. Every day, we should set out to practice these loves. We should daily seek to waste time with God and actively love our neighbors. This might be as simple as sharing a kind word with a friend or stranger, delivering baked goods to someone, or finding other ways to show love to people. We can waste time with God by going on prayer walks or sitting quietly and enjoying God’s presence. Joy comes when we know we are prepared to run the race.
For Prayerful Consideration:
- In what areas of your life or faith do you find yourself making small, repeated choices that lead you away from growth or preparation? How can you begin to make intentional changes to “work out your salvation” each day?
- What practical steps can you take this week to intentionally spend time with God and actively show love to those around you?