He will deliver you
You have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. Out of them all the Lord delivered me. 2 Timothy 3:10 & 11
Timothy was a student. He learned from Paul the ways of ministry and what a great teacher Paul was! The lesson that I believe Paul is telling him in this passage is that in ministry, stuff is going to happen. In fact, in life, there is always going to be something, whether good or bad, we are going to walk through situations. We can choose to do life with God’s help or without it, but trust me, it is much easier with the guidance of His love and Spirit?
The part of this passage that stands out the most to me is Paul saying the Lord delivered him out of all his troubles. He doesn’t say that God removed the problems from his ministry, he says God brought him through those circumstances. Like going through a storm, it doesn’t just go away, it moves through an area. The storm may do damage, but mostly, it is just a lot of clouds and wind as are most trials we go through on a daily basis. The good news is that God is our shield and protector. He has got us covered and gives us wisdom and insight to navigate us through each crisis no matter how great or how small. The important thing to recognize is that He will deliver you out of all of them!
Today I want to encourage you that no matter what you are going through, God has a plan to get you through it. He probably will not remove it, but He certainly could. The more likely result will be He will walk through it with you. This is the greatest way He gets to be a part of your life. Most of us are prone to press into Him when things are tough and that is when He is ready to pick up the pieces and lead you though, step by step. He will never fail, you only need to keep trusting and taking the steps of faith.
Today’s scripture reading: 2 Timothy 3:10-17
