We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Ryan Grinnell.
Bible Reading:
2 Timothy 1:8-14
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
Word:
Have you ever been given something and told to guard it with your life? We’ve all seen movies where there is a treasure or some type of artifact that is priceless and it is given to someone. They are usually told to guard it with their life. The problem is, they usually wind up losing it or it is stolen from them.
This is the situation we see in 2 Timothy. Paul is writing his second letter to Timothy, who has taken over Paul’s church plant in Ephesus. Timothy was facing some really difficult challenges and dealing with even more difficult people. We suspect he wrote another letter to Paul, which caused Paul to write him again. He was going through quite a bit of self-doubt. He was ready to give up on the gifting that had been given to him. But Paul encouraged him, “guard the treasure given to you.”
I love to coach and teach. One of my greatest joys comes when I help someone correct a movement or their form and all of a sudden they are hitting PR’s. It hypes me up BIG TIME! But those are just what we see on the highlight reels.
On the regular day to day grind we don’t see a lot of that. Just like Timothy, we can feel like it’s time to give up when members stop coming, there’s more month left than money, or our daily devotional time is kind of bland. That’s when we need to be reminded to stand our ground and guard the treasure we have inside of us. Those times are making us stronger and more disciplined.
That’s where the fight to hang onto our joy, peace, and faith happens. The highlight reels are great to see on the ‘Gram. But what we don’t see are the months of pain and prep it took to hit those PR’s, or the failures we went through to become better money managers.
What people don’t hear about are the mornings when I’m on my face and crying to God that I want to give up on things He’s given me because I am not seeing any results. But I hear Paul’s words “guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
We can’t do anything on our own strength. It’s the Holy Spirit’s power in us that enables us to guard that thing we’ve been given to share with the world. It’s a gift from our Creator. Whatever your treasure is that you have been given, guard it. And don’t let anything steal it from you.
Prayer:
Father, today I ask you to remind us of the treasure You have given us. We have it because You have given it to us. Remind us to walk in the Spirit’s power and not our own. That same life-giving, dead-raising, devil-chasing Spirit gives us power. And help us to guard the treasure. We are your ambassadors and we walk by our faith, not our sight. Remind us that we have a job to do on this earth. Strengthen us, guide us, and guard us. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Skillwork:
Pick one area in your life where you know you need God’s help to love the way He loves. What is it? When you begin to recognize it, ask Him to show you how He loves you so that you can love others that same way.
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