Sharing in the Sufferings for the Gospel
II Timothy 1:7 has been one of my favorite verses for a long time. The Lord used it to speak to me when I was a junior in high school. On a Key Club trip to Washington D.C. I went to an African American Church, and the young seminary graduate who preached, used it as his text. He did a great job of expounding the meaning, and I was genuinely touched by God.
However, I must confess that somehow I missed verse 8 all these years. I guess I was too focused on the promises of the previous verse to see the call to suffering in verse 8. That is why Paul was telling Timothy he was not given fear by God, but he was given power, love, and a sound mind. He knew Timothy would need it in the sufferings for the gospel. Paul knew the joy of being able to glorify God by suffering for Him.
This week in my training seminar I heard an account of what new believers confess in China when they are baptized into Christ. Before they follow the Lord in baptism, they confess their faith and their willingness to suffer for Him. "If I am persecuted for my faith, I will do it for God's glory and in His power. If I am imprisoned, it will free me to do evangelism for Jesus in the prison. If I am put into solitary, I will be freed to meditate upon Christ and His Word. If I am called on to give my life for Jesus, I will be freed to go to Heaven with Him."
How can anything defeat that kind of faith? When we understand the fact that suffering frees us to serve the Lord and to glorify Him by our faithfulness through the suffering, we can resist any foe. We know we have God's power, love and sound mind at our disposal, and we know that no fear of the enemy comes from God. Therefore, we can and will be victorious, as we rely on Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Timothy 3-4 and Titus 1-2.
However, I must confess that somehow I missed verse 8 all these years. I guess I was too focused on the promises of the previous verse to see the call to suffering in verse 8. That is why Paul was telling Timothy he was not given fear by God, but he was given power, love, and a sound mind. He knew Timothy would need it in the sufferings for the gospel. Paul knew the joy of being able to glorify God by suffering for Him.
This week in my training seminar I heard an account of what new believers confess in China when they are baptized into Christ. Before they follow the Lord in baptism, they confess their faith and their willingness to suffer for Him. "If I am persecuted for my faith, I will do it for God's glory and in His power. If I am imprisoned, it will free me to do evangelism for Jesus in the prison. If I am put into solitary, I will be freed to meditate upon Christ and His Word. If I am called on to give my life for Jesus, I will be freed to go to Heaven with Him."
How can anything defeat that kind of faith? When we understand the fact that suffering frees us to serve the Lord and to glorify Him by our faithfulness through the suffering, we can resist any foe. We know we have God's power, love and sound mind at our disposal, and we know that no fear of the enemy comes from God. Therefore, we can and will be victorious, as we rely on Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Timothy 3-4 and Titus 1-2.