The Encouragement to Continue

September 24, 2018 by Leave a Comment

hope, encouragement, 2 Timothy 4:1-2. patience, persistenceWhoever you are, wherever you are, you have a job to do in the Kingdom of God.  As God’s chosen and beloved child you are blessed with talents, abilities, affinities and opportunities to minister and to serve in a way that is as unique as you are.  No matter your situation or location God has a special task for you that will require you to be completely dependent on him to accomplish but will bless and complete you in a way that nothing else can.

Some of us are still in the beginning stages of our calling while others have been working and serving for many years now.  Whether young or old, new believer or seasoned saint we have the responsibility to work and to serve as God directs and to be diligent in our appointed tasks.

Hopefully we can feel energized and excited about our work but realistically we will experience struggles, hardships and even discouragement at some points along the way.  We have an enemy who is tirelessly working to accuse, disrupt and discourage our efforts but, according to God’s word, if we are patient and persistent then we will be granted the strength and the resources to overcome all obstacles.

I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.   2 Timothy 4:1-2 (HCSB)

Paul’s encouragement to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 is incredibly beneficial during times of struggle and hardship.  Paul’s charge to Timothy is a charge to us as well and we can apply the same words and principles to our own situations just as I am sure Timothy did when he first read Paul’s letter so many years ago.  Just as we should, Paul wanted Timothy to know why he was working (because of Jesus Christ appearing and his kingdom) and why it was so important that he continue what he had started (judgement is sure and is coming).

From Paul’s words we can see his experience and his wisdom in being a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He knew it wasn’t always convenient (often it is not) or easy and, more often than not, takes great patience.  What we want to rush through or avoid altogether God often has us face head-on and struggle against for a period of time.  We might not understand why but still God asks us to persist and to be patient within our circumstances because he is working all things out for the good for those who love him and are called to serve.

What we must not do is stop or give up.  Souls hang in the balance and God has been too good to us and too faithful for us to give up on him.  He always has what we need and all that is required of us is that we stay dependent and connected to him in prayer and thanksgiving.

Whatever you are facing today does not compare with God’s resources and awesome power to overcome.  Stay vigilant and focused as God works out his perfect plan for you and remember that your reward is coming and great will be the day of his returning.

 

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The Hopeful And Persistent Prayer

August 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment

prayer, persistence, Matthew 7, Luke 18Has God ever given you an exclamation point?  Has He ever emphasized something so strongly to you that it was just as if He had sent you a personal message that ended in enthusiastic punctuation?  Recently, God did that for me and I want to share the story with you.

Throughout my week I focus on the current Sunday School lesson and I also use a couple of daily devotional guides.  These materials are from several publishers and written with different goals in mind and come in various formats.  I might be in the book of Genesis in my Sunday school material while my prayer guide may have me reading out of the book of Romans.  And because it is God’s word (that is living and powerful) no matter what I am reading it is always timely and effective.

But this one day was a little bit different.  My Sunday school material took me to Matthew chapter 7 and to these verses:

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!    Matthew 7:7-11 (NASB)

These verses in Matthew serve to remind us to be persistent in our prayers because we have a God who loves us and desires to give us good gifts.  I pondered these verses for a few minutes after I read them and I felt thankful and encouraged.  And then I flipped over to my prayer guide and it focused on these verses:

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”  Luke 18:1-8 (NASB)

In Luke 18 Jesus tells a story about a persistent widow and a secular judge.  The theme is persistence in prayer,  just the same as it was in my prior reading from Matthew chapter 7.  At this point, I felt the exclamation point coming on and I felt very strongly that God was encouraging me to keep praying and to be encouraged and hopeful in my prayers.

I find it interesting and impactful that Jesus ends verse 8 with the question “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”  Does it not show our faith when we are persistent in our prayers and hopeful in our expectation of an answer from our heavenly father?  And does it not show a lack of faith and when our prayers falter and we begin to lose hope?  In my mind, Jesus is asking us to remain faithful, hopeful and prayerful up until the very end.  He’s just told us that He is bringing justice “quickly” but it remains up to us not to lose heart and to exercise our faith in God in the meantime.

In case you need it, here is the exclamation point spelled out for you (actually, here are a couple of them): Keep praying!  Keep hoping!  Keep on believing in the God who desires to give you good gifts and will see you through to the end!

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