For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He will not deny us, If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
2 Timothy 2:10-13 NASB
It's a reality of life that pressure produces change. Not all stress is evil. Without the places of ‘press’ in our lives there would be no growth. None of us like pressure nor the frustration it brings. As adults, we live creating environments to remove any and all stimulus pushing our buttons. Yet, we have been created for the chaos of life, so Paul’s words written to Timothy still echo down through the years, fitting the church today.
We do not know what our futures hold. We do know that God is at work preparing His church for those events. ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the spirit is saying’ is an admonition Jesus decreed with many of His hard to understand sayings. We always want to understand the ‘why’ of our instructions but sometimes it’s a matter of simple obedience enabling us to be safely set in right places at the right time.
Being right and doing right will be our safest bet in the days ahead. Understanding comes, but God does expect and require us to step into obedience without understanding. Although he (Jesus) were a son, he learned obedience by the things He suffered. That’s pressure. That’s the press. Making right choices IN the hard moments. ‘Holding the Line’ requires us to stand in the right spot with the people you have been given to stand with, not deserting your place. Paul wrote that he endured all things for others salvation. This isn’t only about you and me; It’s about other’s salvation and the eternal glory we want all to share.
It is not a day to cast off restraints, nor to excuse laziness or busyness. Paul reminded Timothy soldiers do not get entangled with civilian pursuits since their aim is to please the one who enlisted them. This is a day to fine tune hearts and minds, so that our spiritual lives are alert and unmoved by the chaos. Paul exhorted Timothy to, as a good solider, endure hardness.
We will all face trouble, ‘In the world you shall have tribulation’. The issue becomes how we face it. Do we murmur and complain? Do we try to escape and run back to our comfort zones? Do we throw up our hands and surrender? Do we cry out to God ~ ‘so unfair!’? All of us are touched by these temptations because it is simply human nature. BUT…..
We are not like those people who turn back and get destroyed. Jesus said be of good cheer when we meet up with trouble. Count it all joy! We are those who choose to endure unto the end and be saved. We choose to cast off the works of darkness, complacency, stoney lukewarm hearts. We arise as children of the light, shinning and displaying His glory in this chaotic and troubled time.