"Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to the faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith." 1Timothy 1:18-19
The instructions Paul is talking about to Timothy are the same ones any of us who have received the good news have gotten. You know the ones, the teachings that encourage us to pray, study, serve, follow the Lord and believe with our whole hearts. Pretty straight-forward and not confusing.
Lois, Timothy's spiritually mature grandmother had prophesied that Timothy would be used of God someday, and the time had come. Paul then invites Timothy to fight the good fight, because he knows life is a battle, because of his own life. Hang on for dear life to your faith he tells him because life is full of storms you know and you will sleep better if you really try and if you do so with integrity. Good advice I think…. In fact, great counsel. Then Paul warns Timothy that those who do not fight and hang on to their faith, and follow the basic instructions and go so far as to reject sound doctrine... These have shipwrecked their faith. He actually names names if you want to know and decide to look up verse 20, which is rather blunt.
The lesson here is for us not to give in or give up. Hang on my friends. Storms pass. Cling to your faith and follow the teaching of His Word, in doing so you will make it to safe ports in the storms and avoid shipwreck too. Keep your eyes on your own boat and let the Lord handle the rest.
Back to the fight for one more illustration before I close today. Your fight is mostly with you, right? Have you ever thought of surrendering to Him and let Him fight that battle for you, the fight that is actually the battle with yourself? At least ask for His help. I have to have His help with my battles. Can't fight them alone, when I have to fight. Shipwreck can usually be avoided by watching the weather and by not taking unwise risks. I pray you will have smooth sailing as you follow Our Captain's seaworthy instructions.
Love from Grace Harbor,
Pastor Fred
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I had interesting reflections over this devotional. As I tried to determine what storms I was currently battling, it occurred to me that I’m not really battling any at all – at least not in the sense of “raging” storms. The Titanic isn’t looming over my tugboat and my rains are more of a light drizzle, not a torrential downpour. So, then I was left wondering, “Well how am I fighting the good fight of faith in my own life then?” Is it possible that life is just good and battles are currently at a minimum? “Nah, couldn’t be…look hard, there has to be something wrong” the devil on my shoulder tried to convince. But, it’s true! Life is just good right now. How odd it felt to meet with this realization (not to mention how odd it is that I felt it odd in the first place – why do we find it “odd” if things are going well? Or, is that just me?). There’s a movie called “The Magic of Ordinary Days,” and the title of that movie resonates with my own life right now. Things are calm and, for the most part, quite good! Ordinary, if you will, and because of God’s presence – most definitely magical!
ReplyDeleteIt dawned on me after coming to this conclusion that I just came out of a storm not long ago. I just finished fighting a battle and the reality of where God has since placed me is supremely sweet. Through the sweat and tears, I’ve been renewed and strengthened for whatever might come next. I didn’t realize until I read this devotional and started taking what turned out to be a near empty inventory of “current battles” how it feels to be on the finishing (“finishing” until the next battle starts that is) side of fighting the good fight of faith. “Huh…so this is what the payoff feels like,” I thought to myself. Su-wEET! Not only do I feel closer to Him, but I’ve also been shown truths about myself that I didn’t know going into the battle. They weren’t such pretty truths to face, but they rarely are, right? The fight is almost always exactly as you said – within me. How gentle you were in reminding me that other people and circumstances are rarely, if ever, the real problem. May He not let me forget that when it’s time for a new battle. Thank you for allowing God to use you, Pastor Fred.