READ:
2 Timothy 4
Chapter 4 really challenges us with the idea that people have choices. In the first half of the passage, Paul talks about the choices one can make in learning truths in God’s Word, in deciding where one will take a stand among a crowd, and how one will reach out to others.
The second half is the sad reality that not everyone who stood with you as you began your journey with Christ will always finish with you. You can almost hear the sadness in Paul’s words as he tells Timothy of those who have left him. At the time of writing 2 Timothy, he is sitting in prison, reflecting on relationships he has had with people and their choices.
Yet Paul demonstrates to us how we’re to react when situations like this come upon us. “At my first defence no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me” (v. 16) He could have chosen to be angry, to be bitter or to seek revenge - all things that seemed part of his character when he was younger. But Paul’s answer reveals the work Jesus had done in his heart. “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (v.17). May we stand fast like this when we face trials and disappointments!
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
1.
Paul was close to heaven at
the point of writing this book. What characteristics did he portray in this
chapter that demonstrate he was not concerned about this lifetime?
2.
While it is true we can be
more heavenly minded than earthly good, thinking about the amazing promise of
heaven can spur us on to caring less about the pressure we feel from those
around us. For example, being hurt by people who have deserted us has a little
less sting when we stand in the promise of the things to come. In what way could
you lessen the cares of this world by reminding yourself of the glory of
heaven?
3.
Many times we see others
who act like Demas or Alexander. They desert us or do us great harm. But we
often fail to see that we do the same thing to others. Ask the Holy Spirit to
show you if this is the case for any of your relationships.
