“Being Deserted” by: Pastor Fred Snider

“You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.” 2 Timothy 1:15

I never say always. Although I must admit that hyperbole is sometimes effective. Similarly, “Nobody likes me”, can be understood to be a bit of an exaggeration. Obviously not everybody in Asia deserted Paul. By desertion he is not referring necessarily to physical desertion but a desertion in the faith. In upcoming verses he refers to others that were an amazing blessing to him. But for the sake of effect here he states that the whole ministry in Asia has deserted the faith. At least it felt like it. I know this feeling. At times in my ministry over the years I have felt that awful feeling. In my youth ministry, or even when pastoring a church, or simply a big plan was going down the tubes and I felt like all was lost and that the whole ministry was at risk or seemingly doomed. Although not completely true, in some cases it was the beginning of the end of what we hoped would be. I think we can all relate. That being said, Paul specifically mentions Phygelus and Hermogenes, and guaranteed they did desert him, probably in every way imaginable. This too is painful in the work of the Lord. When individuals leave the ministry it is hard to swallow. Necessary sometimes but nonetheless not easy to face or bear. Imagine how this feels when you are in prison as Paul was. He couldn’t do a thing about it. Prior to mass communication or any social media, Paul could only express his angst in a slow moving letter. This was no doubt cause for a lot of sleepless nights and tears. He took this desertion personally. I am sure he went through a lot of soul searching and replaying of the events that changed the ministry in Asia. How sad. But, the gospel is in the hand of the Lord ultimately, and Paul knows this. Though he shares this difficult personal downturn in his life, he rebounds to faith in coming verses. This is how real life is. We have these times of very harsh reality accompanied with spates of a sense of failure. Indeed not easy. But, when serving the Lord, you roll with it. Because He is in charge and He has the plan and He is able, even when people desert you and it feels like maybe everybody has. Our reliance must remain in the Lord and Him alone. Regardless of our circumstance, He is still on the throne.

May God touch our hearts with the personal application of this devotional.

In Him,
Pastor Fred

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