“Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done. Be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said. The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.” –2 Timothy 4:14-18 NLT
There is so much packed into this verse that relates to our struggle as men. Half of it we choose to ignore or conveniently forget. Let's break it down.
- there is someone out to cause you harm
- he's fighting against you
- you feel abandoned and alone
- it's the Lord that gives you strength
- He rescues you
- He delivers
- He brings you to safety
The common thread is that without God, you're in harm's way and you find yourself abandoned. If you stop there, you're helpless. You have no strategy for overcoming your struggle. You stay lonely.
But when you realize that you're incomplete to accomplish the task by yourself, now there's something to work with. Now you have perspective. Now you can see. You not trying to save yourself gives God something to work with.
Quit trying to work through this thing all by your lonesome self. Jesus is poised to do something truly amazing with your life. Get some perspective and get out of His way.
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