With each daily headline, the feeling of “I never thought I’d see this” has become more frequent. As waves of social, political, and even theological propaganda swell around me, I struggle to gasp a breath of hope. But it is in the turbulence that strong faith emerges. As waves of confusion and turmoil rise, the temptation to turn inward and enter self-preservation mode is natural.

Too many of my friends have been caught in the undertow of deceptive voices that urge them to “love themselves” and demonize the enemies who are causing pain. Yet, in our current storm, the writings of a fellow fisherman cast a lifeline to us. He writes, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore, be vigilant and watchful in your prayers. And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:7–8)

As I read this passage this morning, I was reminded of the response I should have as a follower of Jesus in the face of an ever-darkening age. Peter wrote his letter to persecuted and deported believers who found their lives relocated among four Roman provinces south of the Black Sea. The hardships they faced cannot be overlooked. They rejected their family traditions of Judaism to follow Jesus. Adding to their sacrifice, believers were ridiculed as “the people of the way,” a faith that was cast as a cult among the Jews. The Romans had little regard for them, and they struggled to find any sense of normal living. They were thrust into regions where sexual exploitation was common and corruption overwhelming. They were surrounded by a political system that reeked of greed and perversion. Every facet of their life was infected with the sickness of evil.
Peter takes up his pen against these hardships and writes, “Be vigilant and watchful in your prayers” and “Above all things, have fervent love for one another.” The word “vigilant” in Peter’s letter unfolds a perspective we can note. This word here means “think and live wisely in self-control over one’s passions and desires.” Peter counsels his readers not to allow the auto-responses of emotional passions to take control of their thoughts. Today, as people rage and vent their charged opinions on social platforms to spew their offense on as many listeners as possible, Peter offers a better option. He charges us to control our impulse to shame, intimidate, speak in condescension, or even think less of those who live contrary to our’ life-guiding beliefs.
In addition to abstaining from our default impulses, he charges his readers to be “watchful in prayer.” Though it may be self-serving to pray against people, our prayers, as Peter writes, are to be in the spirit of “fervent love.”

There’s a hidden principle here of restraining impulsive behavior and its correlation to the effectiveness of our prayers and ability to love others. When we react with untempered feelings, we undermine our ability to pray effectively and love well. What happens when our feelings of offense or pain take control? We will find ourselves in the prison of emotional isolation, which is the mark of spiritual immaturity. If you’re fin an emotional lone ranger, you’ve reached the consequences of living for yourself.

However, the other pathway of keeping your responses in check can build your capacity to “love fervently.” How do you love those who hurt you? You love by praying for them, by petitioning the Holy Spirit to move in their life and bring them closer to Jesus. Choosing persistent and fervent love means laying aside offense and even your hurt. It means choosing not to think or act in a way that would jeopardize the Spirit of Jesus in you. The strength to love well comes only from leaning into the Holy Spirit’s fruit of self-control.

When you are “watchful in prayer” and respond with “fervent love,” It makes room for the God of all creations to step in and work things out for your good. There’s no shortcut to this process of allowing difficult times to shape you into a Christ-like nature.
Of course, when you’re hurting because of other people’s broken and even evil choices, the enemy will offer you promises laced with promises that feed your feelings of hurt. God’s promises, however, speak to the nature of His Spirit, which is at work in you. The Holy Spirit will pull you from a victim mindset into the overcomer you are in Jesus.

Are you facing a heartbreaking difficulty? There’s a way to keep your soul and mind intact in the storm. Take Peter’s advice to restrain your impulsive response and choose to pray with fervent love. This simple truth sets Jesus and His followers apart from all others. This is how you are made into the image of the one you love and follow- Jesus.