The Bible reveals that God left no detail to chance when He decided to create human beings. The precision and perfection of our body’s systems are without equal: our circulatory, digestive, immune, and muscular systems are all designed to sustain our life. Yet His care for us goes beyond the formation of our body. When God created the first humans, He gave them a beautiful garden, companionship, and a purpose. Rather than withdrawing from the world after its creation, God remained involved. Even after Adam and Eve sinned and had to be banished from the Garden of Eden, the Lord did not abandon them . . . and He has never abandoned us.
Today, we encounter all kinds of pressures in our society. We’re living in unprecedented times . . . which bring unparalleled tension. Family pressure. Time pressure. Financial pressure. Pressure to compete and succeed by our culture’s standards—at work, in school, in our community, and maybe even in our church. As believers in Christ, we are encountering pressures in our world that we have never had to face before. It all can cause us to wonder at times if God sees us in our situation . . . and if He is really with us in the midst of it.
Recently, I’ve been encouraged by a particular passage of Scripture, 2 Peter 1:3–11, that reveals God is not only with us in the midst of our crises but that He has actually provided us with everything we need to handle whatever life throws our way. This passage is one that I’ve known all my life. I’ve studied it and taught it for years. But in recent days, when I have been feeling under pressure, it has provided fresh air in my spiritual lungs. I have found that inhaling God’s promises from this passage forces me to exhale the pressures of the world.
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:3-11
In Everything You Need, we are going to follow the trail of logic found in this passage to understand how God’s divine power gives us everything we need—not half, or most, or even a lot— to live a life of godliness. We will do this by exploring eight essential character traits—each one built on the previous one—that God has provided to move us from where we are to where He wants us to be. These character traits are:
- Diligence—pursuing the Lord with all your heart
- Virtue—the sustaining joy of a God-pleasing life
- Knowledge—the accelerated growth that comes from knowing God
- Self-control—the skill of bringing your habits under the Holy Spirit’s control
- Perseverance—the resilience that casts off discouragement
- Godliness—the mirror-image of Christ in your personality
- Brotherly kindness—friendliness that draws people to yourself and to Jesus
- Love—the essence of serving God and others
These eight qualities are indispensable for your life as a believer in Christ. They are like critical tools that God—the ultimate “trail master”—has given you to direct you along this long trail that we call life. These tools will guide you. They will empower you. They will help you move forward and not lose sight of your goal. They will nourish and sustain you when the pressures mount around you. And they are all available to you at any time!
Life’s pressures won’t get easier. But the promise is that you can move forward with confidence when you realize God has given you everything you need.
Watch a preview of the first session below.
David Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point, an international ministry committed to providing Christians with sound Bible teaching through radio and television, the Internet, live events, and resource materials and books. He is the author of more than fifty books, including A Life Beyond Amazing, Jeremiah Bible Study Series, Overcomer, and Forward. Dr. Jeremiah serves as the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego, California, where he resides with his wife, Donna. They have four grown children and twelve grandchildren.