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1 Peter 4:19
19 Wherefore [hoste] [kai] let [paratithemi] them that suffer [pascho] according to [kata] the will [thelema] of God [theos] commit the keeping [paratithemi] of their [heautou] souls [psuche] to him in [en] well doing [agathopoiia], as [hos] unto a faithful [pistos] Creator [ktistes]. KJV-Interlinear
19 Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. NASB
And finally in this chapter, after being hit with the repetition of reminders of what leaning on God verses leaning on the world, will do for your life, you are asked to decide.
2 Tim. 1:12
12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. NASB
Is your life better off when you keep on pursuing your own beliefs, though they differ with the principles being taught, or is your life going to be better off by actually committing yourself to Gods instructions?
Believe it or not, most believers believe in God, in Christ, and in a spiritual life of some sort.
We can say nearly the same thing about Satan. He believes in God and Christ, and even the Holy Spirit. He has interacted with them for far longer than the human race has existed. But Satan does not accept their authority or anything else about them.
Likewise, most believers though they believe in a deity that they have never seen, do not subscribe to the mandates that the Bible gives to us. In most cases, most folks allow the confusion of ambiguous arguments to enter into their minds and that allows them to be creative with the things they believe or choose not to agree with.
So, here Peter gives you the rule, if you are going to live through this life, and if you desire a successful outcome for your life, then why not commit your entire life to Gods instructions and expectations, so you can actually receive the maximums in blessing for both this life and the next?
Why compromise even a little bit, while trying to cling to whatever it is that you cling to in this world, and lose far greater reward?
The biggest barrier in spiritual growth is the arrogance of disagreement. ‘I don’t agree with this or that. I think that this or that should be allowed. I don’t think that, that is what the Bible means.’
And these ideas come almost exclusively from those who do not pursue a daily study.
Certainly all of us will have difficulty in accepting a principle from time to time, but we keep on studying and we keep on having an open mind and sooner or later, the pieces of the puzzle come together so that we can finally see a principle and finally realize its truth.
Likewise, when we hear principles that are wrong, our continued studies will verify their error, sooner or later.
Advancing believers do not bury themselves in an immovable position, but keep an open mind.
Believers who are not advancing (because they do not pursue a daily study) are usually the most vocal, the most critical, and the most rigid in their beliefs. And for all of their indifferent or belligerent attitude, they will lose the most. But, you’ll never convince them otherwise.
The spiritual life is not a competition between people, but between you and yourself. You are your greatest asset or your own worst enemy. The world, other people, other philosophies are really irrelevant when it comes to your success or failure in life, because it is your own decision that determine your future. For God, means success, anything else, means loss.
At some point in your spiritual life, you will have to trust in God, and in the whole concept that God controls your life, controls history, and pretty much everything else. You can begin that trust on your own the easy way, or you can remain distant from Gods mandates and discover that trust in a more difficult fashion, or not at all.
In every case, the choice is yours and yours alone to make. So the next time you look in the mirror, ask yourself whether or not you are wise or just stupid.
