Proper Places

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.--1Peter 1:2

I want to live the life You have planned for me. I want to be godly before You. How can I access divine power to do this?

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love.--1Peter 1:5-7

Oh, sure. I can't do this. No way. I can do some of these some of the time, but not all of them all of the time. Never.

If anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten he has been cleansed from his past sins.--1Peter 1:9

Just a minute. So having the character You desire, a character that progresses from faith to goodness to knowledge to self-control to perseverance to godliness to brotherly kindness to love starts with remembering my own sin. Accessing diving power depends on knowing first that I can't do it. These characteristics do not come from my own depths, but from Yours.

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.--1Peter 1:20-21

In fact, You gave us Your Word, and through the Holy Spirit continue to give us Your Word, but that Word is never our word. Even during the wonderful times you transfer holy understanding to me (like now), I remain my ego-driven, sinful self. You may speak, and even use my own mouth to speak out loud, but I can never forget that the same mouth that You enable to speak Your truth is still connected to my sinful body. In fact, anyone who forgets this, You tell me is blind.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.--Proverbs 3:5-6

You, not me. Knowing who You are and who I am keeps us both in the places You prescribed and all is as right as this world allows.