I love the fact that throughout the bible we are told to partake in what God has done for us, we are never shown to sit back and do nothing. That never does any good for growth and maturity in our lives and as long as we are living here we all need to be learning and growing. It says "prepare your mind for action" and "exercise self control" that is important because when we lose control we start trying to fix our lives on our own. We get more panicked and we miss out on the strength He gives us to do all things. Verse 14 goes on to say, “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.” Obedience is important for our growth and it shows that we have surrendered our way for what He has done for us.
When we prepare our minds daily we see how incredible His will is for us and we desire living for Him not ourselves. Before accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior I didn't know any better. I figure if I was good to people everything thing would be good for me. Well, as I kept living this way I kept seeing that being good didn't do anything for me and my life. (Don't get me wrong, we need to be good) what I am saying is, even though I was good I was still stressed, angry, hurt, alone, and confused. When we surrender and prepare our mind for action we see the incredible things that God is doing in us and we have peace because of Him. I love what it says in John chapter 14 verse 27, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
Now that we know better we live according to Jesus' example and we shine His light and are holy. Verse 15 goes on to say, “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.” We are holy because of Him and we live as He did because we know Him and have a relationship with Him. See, none of this happens on our own, we constantly learn and seek wisdom and He perfects our faith and fills us with strength. When we continue reading in 1 Peter we see that God has no favorites and this is important for us to see because He can and will use us all no matter what we think of ourselves.
I want you to really read these next verses and be prepared to believe it and understand it each day as you seek Him. In 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18-19 it says, “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” Because of Jesus we have eternal life and we don't have to wonder what will happen when we stop living in this temporary home, we know we will be home with Him forever. Let's all read and remember what verse 23 says, “For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.” Amen