Think About This: “By faith, we believe God provides and we hold to the truth that He will not lie.” – Lynn R. Davis
The Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 11-12 You can download our 2023 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
Posted on January 30, 2023 by Elizabeth Welte in Victory Call
“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgement; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials…” (2 Peter 2:4-9)
Sometimes I think Peter and Paul didn’t take grammar or composition in school. Their sentences can run on for an entire paragraph and because of that I can get lost easily and lose track of the point they are trying to make. That was the case recently when I was reading 2 Peter 2. When I slowed down (see it’s not all their writing) and started to take apart this sentence I realized it is a very lengthy compound IF…THEN statement. You remember those right?
Please take a moment and reread 2 Peter 2:4-9 and look specifically for the IF’s (there are 4 of them in the ESV).
IF God did not spare angels when they sinned…
IF He did not spare the ancient world…when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly…
IF by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes He condemned them to extinction…
IF He rescued Lot…
THEN the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials…
Are you in the midst of a trial that has led you to have tunnel vision? Have you lost your God-perspective because all you can see is your pain? Has your trial tested your faith and seems to be winning? Remember God’s work through history in the lives of His people.
Be encouraged. God knows how to rescue you from your trial. If God did A and B and C and D – then He can deliver you too. It takes faith to believe it is possible.
Herein lies the HOPE of the Gospel. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)
Written by Diane Hunt: Diane Hunt serves on the board of America’s Keswick and is the Executive Director & CEO of Changed Choices, a Christian non-profit in North Carolina. She is also a biblical counselor and women’s event speaker. For more information about having Diane speak at your next event please contact her at dhunt@americaskeswick.org.
Think About This: “By faith, we believe God provides and we hold to the truth that He will not lie.” – Lynn R. Davis
The Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 11-12 You can download our 2023 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.” Psalm 40:11