Hosanna Restoration Church

If any disciple was qualified to warn us to pay close attention to the Word of God it would be Peter. After all, He traveled with the Lord and heard the voice of God. He was on the mount with Jesus and still he denied the Lord. He could have thrown in a little personal testimony when he wrote this, but I guess God figured he had been through enough. Paul was quick to tell everyone what a sinner he was, but Peter never mentions his terrible sin. Still, he would be very qualified to tell people to be Holy, live right, and pay attention. It is always nice to learn the easy way, but unfortunately it seems the hard way is often the way we learn best.

Peter points out that hearing the voice of God gave them greater confidence in all that the prophets had spoken. Just as Jesus had pointed out to him in no uncertain terms when he was looking at things from man’s point of view rather than God’s, Peter is telling us to pay close attention to what God has to say. No matter what the circumstance or the situation, hold on to what God says, because it is the truth. He refers to the truth as being like a light in a dismal place, or a bright light in a dark world. We know that if we are in the dark we can follow light to its source in order to get out of the dark. This also reminds us not to be satisfied with groping around in the dark as well as not to do things that must be done in the cloak of darkness. If we keep our eyes on the light, we will be drawn out of the darkness.

We don’t always understand all that God is showing us, but we should just keep our eyes on it. Peter tells us to press into it until the light or the revelation comes. There again, Peter knew all about speaking and acting without understanding. Jesus told him exactly what He was going to do and why He was going to do it, and Peter told Him He shouldn’t. I wonder how many times Peter wished He had just kept looking at the light. It was bad enough to be rebuked by Jesus, but to deny Him three times after being warned what was coming must have torn Him apart.

There is no doubt that Peter had some confidence after hearing the voice of God, but His failure to heed it made him even more adamant about the importance of staying focused until it was clear. How many times do we catch a glimpse of some light that God is showing us and then fail to focus on it until it is so much a part of us that we will never let go? I know there are times in prayer when I will catch a glimpse of something and then fail to write it down and soon I am asking the Lord to remind me again. Or other times when reading the Word something will leap in my Spirit and again I will loose it because I did not pay attention to it until I could not forget it.

This applies to all truth. If you need healing, focus on healing. If you need salvation, provision, protection or direction, focus on what God says about those things. Pay attention to His word until you have complete confidence in it.