DILIGENT HANDS IN DEVOTION (1)

“Therefore, brethren, BE EVEN MORE DILIGENT to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble”  – 2 Peter 1:10

God’s Word exhorts a great deal on DILIGENT HANDS in DEVOTION: “Therefore, brethren, BE EVEN MORE DILIGENT to make your call and election sure, for if you DO THESE THINGS you will never stumble” (2Pet.1: 10-11). In the Bible, the Hand is symbolic of our actions and deeds. Peter’s reference to “do these things” relate to earlier verses: “But also for this very reason, giving ALL DILIGENCE, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” (2Pet.1: 5-7). Adding to or maturing in Faith is not accidental. It demands dogged diligence!

God wants us to be diligent in our devotional lives: in prayer, study and meditation in the Word, and overall obedience. First, let’s examine two sub-themes concerning Diligent Hands in Devotion:

Our Hands and God’s Law: “You shall bind them as a sign on your HAND, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (Dt.6:8). God told His people to bind His laws and words as a sign on their hand. Besides the literal reading, that means He expects all our deeds to be according to His directions and instructions. God’s Law – His Word – is designed to always guide every aspect of our lives, in order for us to be consistent: “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Dt.5:32). Our choices, decisions, deeds, and actions must be guided by God’s Word.

Our Hands and Prayer. If our actions, represented by our hands, are contrary to God’s Way of life, we are told He will not hear our prayers. Dirty or defiled hands often represent sinful lives: “When you spread out your HANDS, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your HANDS are full of blood” (Isa.1:15). Sin causes separation from God: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. For your HANDS are defiled with blood, and your FINGERS with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity” (Isa.59: 2-3). But God hears sinners who repent: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your HANDS, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (Ja.4:8).

Apart from the direct references to Hands, throughout Scripture we find instructions that relate to Diligence in our Devotional lives:

Remembering God’s Truths with diligence: “Only take heed to yourself, and DILIGENTLY KEEP YOURSELF, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren” (Dt.4:9).

Teaching God’s Word to our children: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall TEACH them DILIGENTLY to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Dt.6: 6-7).

Keeping God’s commandments: “You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you” (Dt.6:17).

Guarding our hearts: “Keep your heart with ALL DILIGENCE, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Pro.4:23).

Seeking the Lord: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM” (Heb.11:6).

Removing roots of bitterness: “Looking CAREFULLY lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Heb.12:15). The word “carefully” is synonymous to “diligently.”

Diligence to the End: “And we desire that each one of you show the same DILIGENCE to the full assurance of hope until the end” (Heb.6:11).