Day 342, or December the 8th. I know I can trust
you, God. Our thoughts today are from 1 Timothy,
chapter 1, verse 12. I thank Christ Jesus our
Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered
me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.
And now the big picture surrounding this verse.
In addition to the nine letters written by Paul
and addressed to churches, he also wrote a further
four letters to pastors in the early church.
These are called the pastoral letters. There
are two to Timothy, one to Titus, and one to
Philemon. The longest and most detailed is 1
Timothy, which warns about false teaching which
is already taking place in the church, and the
quality of leadership that is required to combat
this with the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes
to Timothy, who is leader of the church in Ephesus.
And now today's action step. I am sure there
were times in the lives of Abraham, Moses, the
prophets, etc., etc., when words similar to those
used by Paul in our passage today will have passed
through their minds. Just why did God choose
me? I don't know, but I'm really glad he did.
Fancy the idea of God trusting me. He trusts
you too. Paul reminds us that God strengthens
us in addition to considering us trustworthy.
That's what the Bible says here in our verse
for today. Whatever he has chosen for you, remember
that he will strengthen you in order to get the
job completed. Paul is writing to young Timothy,
a man who is not as mature as Paul, and has far
less experience, but Paul confirms to Timothy
that Christ is the giver of strength, and we
have a sufficient supply when we are doing God's
work. Forget the word failure. You can only fail
if you try in your own strength. With God you
cannot fail. In my life there have been many
times when I thought I might have bitten off
more than I could chew, but God strengthened
my wife and me and saw us through. This same
God will strengthen you too, and see you through
whatever your difficulty may be. Just trust Him.