In the Meantime...

In the Meantime…

2 Timothy 1:6-14

There are definitely times in life when we find ourselves exhausted… mentally, physically, spiritually. We live in a world that’s fairly demanding, particularly at times, and, and it occasionally beats us down. Trying to balance the load between family, work, church, expectations (both real and imagined)… various other responsibilities and tasks that we have, from meetings... to washing the dinner dishes. Sometimes it piles up on us to the point that we just wanna pull the covers over our heads and say, “I’m done.”

I read a story this week, that I needed to hear… because it reminded me that Jesus is with us always, and reveals himself through our circumstances.

It was about a woman who had experienced a very stressful, trying day… She needed rest, desperately - she was “dead-on-her-feet”. But, her responsibilities for the day were far from over... she had a two-year-old who still needed to be put to bed. Sounds simple enough. But there was a problem: part of their nightly routine included reading a story. A simple little Bible story book. Every night.

When the mother went to tuck her little daughter in for the night... the little girl would not be satisfied, until her mother read her little story book.

The mom thought, “I just can’t do this today, I can barely hold my head up!” Then she began to immediately think, “well a good mom would read a storybook to their child. A good mom would have the energy to read a storybook to her child.” She literally began to wonder if she done anything right up under that point.

So the mother said, “OK, we’ll read it once.”

Of course, when they reached the end of the book… what do you suppose happened? The little girl insisted that they start over and read it again. And then again… and again. And by the fifth read through, it dawned on the mother, that the simple message of Jesus from the little storybook, wasn’t just for her daughter, it was for her, too.

Sometimes that’s the way Jesus reaches us, right?

The Good News is as much for you and me, as it is for a lost world.

Most of us were taught about Jesus as children, and had faith in Christ for a very long time. But there are times when we need to be reminded of Christ’s powerful truth to confront the chaos and the exhaustion of this life. The lies of Satan threatened to overtake our minds, and steal our joy in following Christ. But when we allow ourselves to be reminded, time and again, of Jesus’ great love for us… expressed in his life, death, and resurrection (the Gospel, in-other-words), we find our life, our faith renewed. And we gain strength to carry on.

We see this in Paul’s second letter to Timothy. Timothy was basically Paul’s apprentice… an assistant who had, very much become like a son. Paul was actually in prison when he wrote this letter… And he himself had endured a tremendous amount of persecution, real persecution, on account of faith in Christ - and now he was facing his final days. But his greatest concern wasn’t himself, his situation, his present circumstances… His greatest concern was passing on his passion for the Gospel. Paul knew Timothy was gonna need it... and God knew you and I would need it.

That’s why Paul charged and encouraged Timothy… “Fan into flame the gift of God... guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14).

Even the very best of lives and the most blessed of people live amid chaos and confusion...and it’s into that reality, Paul declared, “I know Whom I have believed, and I’m convinced that he is able to guard what I’ve entrusted to him until that day.” Paul had placed his faith, is life, in the sure hands of Christ. He had suffered for the Gospel, and was suffering still. But he was convinced (persuaded) that Christ had destroyed death’s sting, and that he was secure, no matter what, in Christ.

Paul wanted Timothy to always remember the Christ, who is truth, and peace. He’s the stabilizing Rock, the sure Foundation, in a life that is filled with unsteadiness.

Of course, guarding that truth starts within us. In our hearts and minds and souls. When the days get long and life gets hard and the world seems to be against us, we need to hear the Good News, we need to repeat the Good News time and again to ourselves. Because as we do, the Holy Spirit strengthens and empowers us… reviving our exhausted spirits and bodies… reminding us of our sure and certain hope in Christ, and enabling us to share God‘s love, grace, and mercy, with others.

How do you and I hear Paul’s words today? Do we hear them as encouragement? Do we hear the truth? Do we feel such words lifting our spirits and empowering us to keep on keeping on even when we feel like giving up.

It’s a simple truth that we can all understand. But then... for some people the Truth often sounds like hate, because they hate hearing the Truth.

The Truth of the Gospel is this: Jesus himself came to redeem our brokeness and to make us right with God. He rose from the grave, defeating death in order that all who believe in him could have eternal life. And it’s thru our faith that we live in confidence, despite our circumstances... knowing that one day Christ will return and make all things new. He’ll remove all those things that cause pain, and confusion, and despair.

In the meantime... in the meantime, Christ will fill our hearts time and again, with a passion to know him, and to make him known.

Paul reminded Timothy, that Christ “saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done... but because of his own purpose and grace.”

God’s purpose for you is as solid and resolute as his love for you. And what God has purposed will come to pass.

There is no greater restorative power, than knowing Christ’s great love for us. “Guard the good deposit (the Word of God, the Gospel) that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit...”

We guard it best by living it... and by sharing it... with a world that needs it, just as much as we do. Amen.