I remember losing my glasses once (to be honest, it's happened more than once). I looked all over the house--in the basket next to the bed, on Lenya's table, in the bathroom, in the extra bedroom, in my office. Finally I shouted, "Lenya, where's my glasses?" She said, "They're on your face." I had them on the whole time I was looking for them!

In the same way, a lot of us are looking for something we already have, spiritually speaking. The Bible tells us, "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:3). God has given us His power so that we can live the kind of life that's totally impossible without it. That's awesome! When we yield to Him, we find that we have power over the flesh, over those old besetting sins and habit patterns, and we can be powerful witnesses before the world.

And yet, some people constantly look for some new ministry or some new teaching or doctrine that nobody's discovered until now...not knowing that they've got all they need! God has given you every resource to grow and be spiritually mature in Him.

We can grow as much as we want to grow. The only hindrance is--guess who--ourselves. In Jesus' parable of the sower (see Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8) some seed fell on good ground and produced fruit, and some fell on bad ground. I am convinced that we regulate our own growth. We can grow, or we can hinder the growth by saying no to the Lord.

You may have failed in the past, but keep going. 2 Peter 1:4 says, "By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature." Not only has God given you His power, He has filled His Word with promises--for your salvation, for your growth, to nurture you, and to provide for you.

A promise is only as good as the one who makes it. There are some people who are not people of their word; they lack integrity. But God has never yet failed on any of His promises. And we ought to learn to put our expectations in the right place--on God, recognizing that His strength is enough. As David said, "My expectation is from Him" (Psalm 62:5).

Remember: A fearful, downtrodden Christian speaks volumes--it shows a person who really doesn't know his God very well. A believer who relies on God's promises and walks in faith shows one who truly knows his God.

God has given us all we need. That's His part (and our part is something I'll handle next time). So let's praise Him for His provision for us, for His promises to us, and His power that works in us to do His will!