Supplements for a Transformed Life

By Dean Collins

There are some instructions in the Bible that if you don’t consider the context and the entire message may seem contradictory. For instance, the first verse of Psalm 121 says, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills,” and Proverbs 4:26 says to “ponder the path of your feet.” One verse has us looking up and the other possibly looking down or straight, so which is it? Up? Down? Or maybe both? 

A careful reading of Psalm 121 confirms that there isn’t any magic coming from the hills. The help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Because the Lord is our keeper, he will keep us from wandering into evil traps, and he watches over both our coming in and our going out, now and forevermore.

In Proverbs 4, there is an instruction which helps us to understand the pondering of our feet. In verse 23, we are told to keep our hearts with all vigilance before we ponder our direction. As the proverb continues, we learn that when our hearts are kept, we are tapping into the very springs of life which we know come from God alone.

In 2 Peter 1, we find agreement and further clarification as to how to make sure we have our hearts, minds, and eyes on the right thing. Through Christ, we have been granted access to the precious and great promises of the Lord that literally transform our nature into that of the divine! And because we abide in Christ, we have escaped the corruption of the world because of sinful desires.

According to the psalmist, the wise king, and the apostle Peter, there are things that we must do to grow in the Lord and maximize our kingdom impact. Even though Peter used the word “supplement” in his directions, what we must do is more than just swallowing a daily spiritual vitamin and expecting instant spiritual health. To maintain health in our physical body we must exert some effort to exercise regularly, get plenty of rest, and to eat a healthy diet. Peter outlines the spiritual exercise that produces effective and dynamic kingdom impact:

1. Supplement your faith with virtue.
2. Supplement your virtue with knowledge.
3. Supplement your knowledge with self-control.
4. Supplement your self-control with godliness.
5. Supplement your godliness with brotherly affection.
6. Supplement your brotherly affection with love.

Because we have been granted a divine nature, we are to spare no effort in our desire to grow in Christ. If we want to be mature in our faith and strong in our impact for Christ, we must put forth effort, or as Timothy suggested, show ourselves to be approved by investing in godly behaviors.

Peter was clear that if we focus on these attributes or characteristics of God, we will be effective in our work for the kingdom of God. If we fail to put forth this investment, we are shortsighted and develop spiritual blind spots, which, by the way, would prevent us from keeping our gaze straight ahead as Proverbs tells us to do.

So today let’s ponder how we might take steps with our supplements, putting effort into the development of godly character. As we do, we will be pondering the right paths as we look to the Lord, who will supply us with all the help we need to be successful in our witness for Christ and his kingdom.

Father, thank you for Jesus, who makes it possible for us to possess your divine nature. Today we will do more than think about our faith; we will seek to develop the godly attributes of virtue, knowledge, self-control, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. We choose to focus on you, Lord, trusting that you will indeed direct our paths now and forevermore. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 4:25-26; 2 Peter 1:3-15 ESV

Photo by Alfred Schrock on Unsplash
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