2 Timothy 1:3-4, “I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.”
My last visit with my mother, who is ninety-five and lives in Iowa, is still very precious. I spent time with her, listening to things she remembered from my childhood that I was not aware of or did not remember. It was an insightful two days of listening to my mother’s wisdom as she reflected upon life and how she said God had taken away the sting of my dad passing away, although it was a hard adjustment, due to the prayers of people praying for her. That word “sting” is now such a meaningful word to me in that context. Do you have a heritage of faith?
Paul knew his death was imminent. He was writing his farewell last words of wisdom and insight to Timothy, in a letter, while sitting in a dungeon. Letters at that time were regarded like a recorded speech and this letter was a substitute for the personal presence for Paul. They both had tears when they last saw each other, probably when Paul was arrested for the second time, and taken to Rome. When one reads 2 Timothy, everything falls into its proper place if the reader keeps this in mind. It is the most intimate and personal of Paul’s letters and was his last. It is what Paul wants Timothy to pay attention to for the rest of his life and ministry.
Paul lived out 1 Thessalonians 5:17, when he stated, “Pray without ceasing,” as he said in 2 Timothy 1:3, “. . . as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.” Timothy was on Paul’s mind continually, his friend who he led to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, mentored in the faith, and passed on the baton of leadership. Paul’s circumstances were not favorable. He was in a cold and damp prison, a dungeon, yet he spent his time praying instead of grumbling and complaining.
Are you trying to figure out how to maneuver around hurdles and barriers in your current job or a relationship? Maybe God is teaching you something or giving you a new opportunity in this dungeon that you would not have learned any other way. Keep pushing forward. James 1:5 states, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” You, meanwhile, can pray night and day too. Remember, Jesus is interceding for you, praying for you and me (Hebrews 7:25), at the right hand of His Father. Psalm 121:3 declares, “He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber.” Eternity will be a place of receiving rewards for obedience, faithfulness, and endurance. Take His hand. He sees, He hears, and thank Him for the profit that will come from enduring this hardship while suffering in this dungeon. Find reasons to be grateful in the midst of it all and don’t allow the enemy to have a seat at your table.
Joni Eareckson Tada has said: “God is more concerned with conforming me to the likeness of His Son than leaving me in my comfort zones. God is more interested in inward qualities than outward circumstances – things like refining my faith, humbling my heart, cleaning up my thought life and strengthening my character.”
Listen to Mercy Me – Blessed (Lyrics) – You Tube. 4/30/2021.