“But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.” 2 Timothy 4:17 ESV 

Hello Friend!🌻

This world has gone completely insane, wouldn’t you agree? The enemy has amped up his craziness to a whole new level in the past few years. 

Good is being called evil and evil is being called good. 

Satan is the author of ALL the evil and hatred in this world but he wants God to take the fall for it in the eyes of those who don’t know their loving Creator and have not yet surrendered their lives to Him.

1 Cor 14:33 tells us that God is not the author of confusion (disorder) but of peace and James 1:13 reminds us that God can never be tempted with evil, nor does He tempt anyone.

It is the Enemy who is on assignment to take every unsaved soul in this world with him to their second death (Rev 20:15), and sadly we are witnessing this lost world fall for his lies and swallow his bait; hook, line and sinker.

That’s how much Satan hates Jesus. That’s how much he hates humanity, God’s own creation.

And in the midst of all this craziness, Jesus whispers “Go tell them about Me” … Mk 16:15.

We know Jesus’ heart towards the lost and unsaved (John 3:16) we saw and felt it for ourselves at Calvary while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Our Heavenly Father loves the lost sinner (even the most vile and evil person) more than we could ever fathom and He is saddened when they leave earth unrepentant and forever separated from Him. 

So we go … 

But it’s not easy to go into the current cancel culture that is becoming more hostile towards its loving Creator and His people. But did you know that the Apostle Paul dealt with these same feelings back in his day?

As bold as Paul may come across in his writings, he made it clear it was Jesus who stood by him, strengthening and empowering him to proclaim the good news about Christ. It was Jesus who rescued Paul from great danger, here figuratively described as being rescued from the ‘lion’s mouth:

2 Tim 4:17 tells us: “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth” (ESV).

If Paul were alive now, he would edify us as he did young Timothy back in the day: the Lord stands by us as well, strengthening and empowering us to take the message of His love and salvation into all the world.

Paul’s words to Timothy may have been some of his last as it is traditionally believed this may have been the final epistle written by him. And God led me to discover another little nugget when I did research for this post …

The original Greek for the word strengthen in 2 Tim 4:17 is enedynamōsen. It is similar to the original Greek for the word strength or empower (enedynamouto) found in Acts 9:22 at the beginning of Paul’s public ministry:

“But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ” (ESV).

Both of these Greek words come from Strongs 1743 and they mean: “To fill with power, strengthen, make strong. From en and dunamoo; to empower.

Can you see how God strengthened and sustained Paul from the beginning to the very end of his public ministry? He is doing the same for us, my friend …  God wants us to trust and rest in Him by remembering …

• To be still and know He is God (Psalm 46:10).
• To pray without ceasing and give thanks always (1 Thes 5:17-18)
• To put on the whole armor of God everyday (Eph 6:10-18).
• To remain calm while He fights ALL our battles for us (Ex 14:14).
• To fix our minds on Him so we can feel His perfect peace (Isa 26:3).
• To be mindful the enemy prowls around LIKE a lion (1 Pet 5:8). 

My friend, we know and worship the King of kings, the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5). He is standing up tall and strong on the inside of us, empowering us to do His Kingdom work today.

So don’t be discouraged by how things look right now. Fix your eyes on Jesus and let His light continue to shine through you into the darkness.

Don’t fret when you encounter hostility for your faith. We need to remember who and Whose we are and respond, not react, when the enemy uses unsaved people to mock or angrily bring their accusations against us or Jesus. This will help any angst you feel to melt into compassion and prayer for the lost state of that unsuspecting soul who doesn’t realize they are caught up in the enemy’s trap. 

Just keep scattering the seeds Jesus placed in your hands and watering the ones He brings across your path today …

You ARE making a beautiful difference in your little corner of this world today!

In closing, may Peter’s words edify your heart today …

“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.” 1 Peter 3:14-16 NLT  

Hugs and Prayers,

But the Lord Stood by Me and Strengthened Me | 2 Tim 4:17 @ freshgracefortoday.com

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