Can you imagine what would be going through your mind if you knew those persecuting the church would soon arrive in your city? No doubt your heart and mind would be filled with anxiety. You would be fearful for yourself, but even more so for your spouse and children. So, Peter wrote two letters to help those facing difficult times to focus their minds on wholesome (pure, unsullied, and sincere) thoughts.

2 Peter 3:1
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder….

Peter did not tell the believers facing persecution to run for their lives but rather to stand firm in their faith. He reminded them of enduring doctrinal truths. They had been born again into a living hope and had an inheritance that could never perish, spoil, or fade, guarded in heaven by God himself. He reminded them of who they were in Christ and the certainty of eternal glory with him.

What great reminders for us! Most of us are not facing persecution, but the truths of Peter’s letters are the doctrines that stimulate wholesome thinking, whatever the situation. And the exhortation is the same whether facing persecution, illness, disappointment, job loss, or divorce—Stand firm in what you know to be true, stand firm in Who you know to be true, and stand firm in the Word of God.

Father, whatever my situation, however deep my valley, however dark my grief, however painful my disappointment, however long my suffering, help me to stand firm in Jesus Christ. I pray in his name. Amen.