2 Peter 1:10, “Be all the more diligent...”
Have you ever cried out, “God! Why don’t I have spiritual power and insight? When will I be spiritually mature? Why am I still struggling with [xyz]? Why can’t I seem to do [zyx]?”
Where is the Spirit at work? Where does spiritual luminosity and strength come from? There are few more important questions than these.
Because these are important questions, we need to be sure we answer them biblically. Some answers to these questions are not only wrong, they’re damaging.
Where is the Spirit? “I just really felt the Spirit here today.” For many Christians, it means little more than that they had a nice time, in a handsome facility, with quality entertainment, and it wasn’t as bad as they thought it’d be. And so they feel good about themselves.
Where does spiritual power come from? “We need revival [meetings]!” “Have you made a personal decision to dedicate [or rededicate] your life to Christ?” “We need to do something radical!”
All people everywhere at all times are interested in the Heroic, in big to-do’s, in “make-over” stories. Christians are not the only people who attend concerts or conferences and feel “recharged” or “renewed.” So it is no true mark of God’s Spirit to feel this way after these experiences.
This is not Christian discipleship. This is not the way to spiritual power, life, and utility. This is not where or how the Spirit of God works.
And so we come to 2 Peter 1:10, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent…”
Diligence in faith-habits becomes spiritual power. The Spirit does not primarily work through “vibrant worship” or “dynamic speaking.” The Spirit works through diligent attention to the habits of faith.
Discipleship is the accumulation of holy, helpful, habits. It is a “long obedience in the same direction.” It is not David versus Goliath, but David with the sheep for the prior decade. It is not Abraham’s knife raised above Isaac, but Abraham’s decades of patience with God. It is not Job’s heroic stand against the false theologies of his friends, but his careful, decades-long, obedience. It is not Jesus’ spectacular three-years of ministry, but his thirty years of growth in obedience and quiet, regular, participation in his synagogue.
Heroic faith “appears suddenly” only after decades of faithfulness and quiet participation in the life of faith with the Church.
“Diligence” is, in a way, a contrast to the “effort” of 2 Peter 1:5: "make every effort." Diligence is necessary when things that used to matter don’t anymore. Diligence is sustained effort. Effort that looks less like effort and more like… a life. Diligence is habits.
Three donuts per week is ten new pounds per year. Why are my pants tight? But three extra walked miles per week is five less pounds per year. And so forth… One chore a day keeps the work-space tidy and clean. One skipped day and the road to disorder appears. A little extra on the mortgage payment and “suddenly” you’re debt-free. A little extra on vacation and “suddenly” you’re strapped and stressed.
Little things are what big things are made of.
Diligence in faith-habits becomes spiritual power. Diligence—dutiful habits maintained through long, dry seasons of life—adds up.
A habit of being with God when you don’t have much to say, and suddenly Jesus is your best friend. A habit of listening to God’s Word when you don’t feel moved by it, and suddenly you experience life-changing insights. A habit of attending church even though it seems dull and overlong, and suddenly you perceive Christ alive in heartbreakingly beautiful ways. A habit of tithing even though it tightens things up at home, and suddenly you discover yourself to have been a wildly generous person and God to have been a wildly faithful God. A habit of regular Bible study despite the time-commitment, and suddenly you are equipped to stand up to false teachers and to instruct new believers. A habit of hospitality, even though it’s a super-pain, and suddenly you find yourself embedded in a meaningful community of people you love, and who love you. A habit of service… of gratitude… of journaling… and suddenly—surprise!—a strong, godly, kind, and now quite wise, voice emerges in the Church. And it is your voice.
Conclusion. Where is the Spirit at work, building strength, wisdom, grace, and luminosity in Christ’s people? In the diligence of the diligent as they get to know Jesus better. In quiet, patient, effort after enthusiasm has faded. In faith that remains.
Why make the effort? Why attend to diligent habits? Because that’s where the Spirit is, hovering, bringing forth God’s New Creation: you.
Photo by Cyril Saulnier on Unsplash
