God our Heavenly Father is always calling us to Himself. “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). He is seeking continuous reconciliation, not just in the one-time event of conversion, but as an ongoing call to holiness based on our relationship with Him. Consider this verse: “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).

Peter explains this in 2 Peter 1:3, “God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself.” When we are born again, we put on a likeness of Christ and increasingly assume His very character, as we “participate in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4 NIV). We become Christlike as we spend time in Christ’s presence. 

Christian Virtues

Peter outlines how we can live like Jesus now, listing some of Christ’s fundamental character traits, also known as Christian virtues. Peter’s description of a godly, holy life includes the following: faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly affection and love for everyone (2 Peter 1:5-7).

Devotion

How does this happen? The key is found in a life of devotion to God. Devotion describes a relationship with God that nourishes the development of Christlike characteristics in our lives. Devotion is a garden where virtues are cultivated, a gymnasium where virtues are exercised, and a playing field where virtues are practiced. Devotion is our rightful response to God’s great grace and mercy.

What is the life of devotion? Jesus lays this out clearly in Mark 12:30, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” “All” is an absolute word, leaving no room for good intentions. We cannot dabble in devotion. It must consume us.

Devotion is rarely discussed in our society. We don’t want anyone telling us what to do. Decisions are often not based on biblical principles, but on emotions, which are subject to constant vacillation. This thinking is reflected in the Israelites during events in the book of Judges. “All the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6). 

Self-centeredness so easily creeps into our lives, even as believers in Christ, as we fight the temptation to slip back towards personal control of our thought processes. Devotion mandates continuous surrender, humility and faithfulness to God. In our self-focused world, these are foreign concepts.

A Jealous God

Repeatedly in Scripture, God describes Himself as jealous. Exodus 34:14 reads, “You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” He wants us to keep our focus on Him. 

God will not share us with the gods of our jobs, education, social media, sports or entertainment, nor the addictions of food or flesh. As hard as it seems, God will not even share us with our Christian ministries if they replace Him as the center of our hearts and passions. This is about love and relationship. 

The Main Thing

How do we cultivate devotion? This involves personal discipline in the form of obedience and spiritual formation. There are no shortcuts. Eugene Peterson borrowed a phrase to describe Christian discipleship simply as “a long obedience in the same direction.” Christ assures us, “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love” (John 15:10).

Relationship with God in devotion to Him becomes the main pursuit of our lives. This starts with daily time in Scripture, a place where God meets with us. This is not a dreary duty or dreadful obligation. We are responding to the lover of our souls, and we leap with joyful abandon to place ourselves in His presence, listening for His voice, talking with Him, sometimes using words and sometimes not.

Instead of “doing devotions,” we live a lifestyle of devotion as God reminds us of His thoughts and precepts throughout our day. Devotion is the springboard to a day spent in God’s presence. Jesus invites us: “Come to me … Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).

Relationship with God fills our days. Saints through the ages have described the joy of the listening heart. Perhaps the most well-known words are from Brother Lawrence in his text, The Practice of the Presence of God. In our everyday activities, we are constantly recalling what God is saying to us as we listen for and hear His voice.

The Holy Spirit, our Teacher

We can’t become more loving or humble by trying harder. God the Holy Spirit develops the virtues in us as we remain aware of God’s presence throughout life’s daily challenges. “The Holy Spirit … will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have told you” (John 14:26).

Jesus encourages us: “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit … This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:5,8 NIV). Devotion is not measured by accomplishments. But we must not become passive or complacent. Devotion is also not a fog of pious emotions. It is active as we surrender to God’s voice and will.

In reality, devotion is spiritual warfare. Our battleground with Satan is the battle for the mind. If we have victory there, the other arenas of our existence—emotions, character, righteous thinking and physical bodies—will follow. This is why Paul warns, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2 NIV). This is the ongoing process of spiritual formation in holiness.

Spiritual warfare is not metaphor or allegory, but a daily, tangible fight for the mind. “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV). “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world” (Ephesians 6:12). These reminders can be disturbing, but we would do well to keep our focus here. As C.S. Lewis and others observe, Satan is quite content to keep us rooted in the visible world only.

Paradoxically, we approach this battle yielded and still. The more we surrender in obedience, and the more we immerse ourselves in Scripture and prayer, the more victorious we will be in Christ. Our devotion must be permeated by an overwhelming sense of humility. In our performance-driven society, we must learn to be humble. “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10) is our war cry. 

God’s devotion

Devotion is reciprocal. God is committed to loving us. When Moses asks God, “Let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully” (Exodus 33:13), God did not rehearse His awesome power, His justice, His wisdom or even His holiness and purity. Instead, He shouted out His promise of faithful love to us. “The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, ‘Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am … filled with unfailing love and faithfulness’” (Exodus 34:6). God’s everlasting love for us forms His devotion to us.

The Arena of Devotion

The Apostle Paul describes where devotion is won: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). This is where Christian virtues are shaped in us by the Holy Spirit.

Thomas Kelly, in his classic book, A Testament of Devotion, gives a succinct definition of devotion: “How then shall we lay hold of that Life and Power, and live the life of prayer without ceasing? By quiet, persistent practice in turning off all our being, day and night, in prayer and inward worship and surrender, toward Him who calls in the deeps of our souls” (p 11). As we see again, the Father is always calling us to Himself.

God has given you His “great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge” (2 Peter 1:4-5 NIV). How do we respond? We give Him our devotion.

This article was originally titled “God’s Call to Devotion” in the November 2024 issue of The War Cry. Illustration by Janie Hao