The smell of fresh sawdust takes me back.
Although he was a principal and school administrator, my daddy never left his rural upbringing. He was happiest in his home workshop, a baseball game crackling from an ancient transistor radio as he whittled, hammered, or painted his latest project. So many wonderful memories from my childhood rest there at his side as I watched him work and explain how all the tools worked to create the final design.
When he died, I walked through his workshop, alternately crying and smiling while I held each tool, remembering his attention to detail and thorough instructions.
As I read the passage from Peter about God’s promises, I’m reminded of my daddy’s workshop and all the tools he left for me.
Everything I might need to fix or create can be done with those tools.
Some of them are easy: I can hammer like a champion. Bring on the nails, and I’m your girl.
Of course, other tools take practice. Using a certain kind of saw blade or sharpening tool requires training and careful practice. But once I’ve worked with the tool, remembering daddy’s instructions, I can handle most tasks.
Likewise, our Heavenly Father has given us a bountiful toolbox in His promises. Each promise that God has given us can help us live a more peaceful and productive life. We just have to rely on those tools, learn to use them, and help others learn about them.
For example, God promises us His peace, regardless of worldly circumstances. This is certainly a promise tool we need to grasp right now! Just like my daddy’s hammer, I need to fully grasp the promise of peace, I need to wield it, rely on it for the task at hand, teach its use to others, and use it to strengthen the world around me.
That tool of peace does me no good gathering dust in the workshop.
I realize this is a flawed analogy. God’s promises cannot compare to earthly tools; they are eternal and powerful beyond my limited description.
However, if we study the Bible about God’s promises as gifts and tools we can use, think how comforted and strengthened we will be, how we will be able to build up our own lives and help others do the same.
Let’s encourage each other this summer to take up these tools and practice them in our daily lives! What a blessing to have these powerful, precious promises!
— Dr. Shari Finkler, Carolina College of Biblical Studies English Professor
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” – 2 Peter 1:3-4 (NLT)