1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Devotional Thoughts
By David Wilkerson
It is possible to walk before the Lord with a perfect heart! God said to Abraham, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Genesis 17:1).
God also said to the children of Israel, “Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 18:13). David determined in his heart to obey this command. He said, “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. . . . I will walk within my house with a perfect heart” (Psalm 101:2).
Scripture also points out that Solomon fell short of God’s command to be perfect: “His heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. . . . [He] went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father” (1 Kings 11:4-6).
We see the Lord’s command to be perfect in the New Testament, as well. Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
Paul wrote, “That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:28). And in the same letter: “That ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (4:12).
And Peter said, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” (1 Peter 5:10).
Perfection does not mean a sinless, flawless heart. Man judges by outward appearances, by what he sees. But God judges the heart, the unseen motives (1 Samuel 16:7). David was said to have had a perfect heart toward God “all the days of his life,” yet he failed the Lord often. His life was marked forever by adultery and a notorious murder.
The basic definition of perfect is: completeness, maturity. In the Hebrew and Greek, the definition includes: uprightness, being without spot, without blemish, totally obedient. It means to finish what was started; a complete performance. Wesley called it “constant obedience.”
A perfect heart is a responsive heart. It quickly and totally answers the Lord’s wooing, whisperings and warnings. This heart says at all times, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears. Show me the path and I will walk in it.”