Courage in the Kingdom (2Tim 1:7)
You are warmly welcome!
When you listen to the Radio, watching TV, reading Newspapers, social networks, etc, you find and see many terrible things that bring fear for our generation. For instance; wars, injustice, corruption, homosexuality practices, abortion, conflicts and among others but all those bring fear and we lose hope. The question is how now shall we live in this confused and changing world? We have to take courage!
Paul is encouraging this young pastor Timothy that through all challenges and persecution remember “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but the spirit of power, of love and self-discipline” (2Tim 1:7).
Courage has been defined as “spiritual, emotional, and moral fortitude to speak and act without fear in the face of obstacles and dangers.” In Timothy’s case it was the fear of an unknown future that did not include Paul helping him in the ministry. Paul wrote this letter to Timothy shortly before he was executed for preaching the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ. Timothy, no doubt, was afraid of ending up in a prison similar to Paul and afraid of similarly receiving the death sentence. Paul writes to Timothy, speaking the truth in love (Eph 4:15), to tell him that the fear he is experiencing is not from God; therefore it must be resisted. One characteristic of the Holy Spirit is power. This power is mighty and strong. Another characteristic of the Holy Spirit is love. Jesus said in John 15:12, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” God has not given us a spirit of hatred, but the Spirit of love. The last characteristic of the Holy Spirit mentioned here is Self-Control. The Spirit of God gives power, love and also brings self-control by transforming you to become more like Christ.
This illustrates to us that it takes enormous amount of courage to become a child of God and to walk as a child of God. It seems to me that if one took the courage to become a Christian in the first place then one should also have a spirit of courage in walking as a Christian. We should especially have courage in taking advantage of opportunities to tell others about the great spiritual blessings that we have received as a result of being Christians. No matter what challenges we face in our life and ministry, we have to take courage and trusting God. So friends when you face any kind of trials and challenges “Don’t tell God how big your problem is, BUT tell your problem how BIG your God is”. Take courage and trust God!
May God bless you so much as you take courage and serve Him.