Have you ever read a passage in the Bible that you had read before but suddenly a single verse seems to jump off the page and in to your heart and mind? 2 Timothy 1:7 is one of those verses for me – “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.” God’s timing in the revelation of this verse has made a significant impact in my life and my ministry over the last few years.
POWER: I have come to realize how very little I tap in to the power given to me through my relationship with Christ. A recent song by Jeremy Camp sums it up beautifully:
The same power that rose Jesus from the grave
The same power that commands the dead to wake
Lives in us, lives in us
The same power that moves mountains when He speaks
The same power that can calm a raging sea
Lives in us, lives in us
He lives in us, lives in us
The power of the Holy Spirit helps me to overcome my fears and insecurities in speaking on difficult topics, meeting a room full of new people and ministering to strangers.
LOVE: Matthew 22:36-39 says, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ We are a nation of people who generally do not love themselves. So if Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves and we do not love ourselves how does that play out with the people around us? Consider how worthy God finds you for love:
He knit you together in your mother’s womb – Psalm 139:13
You are fearfully & wonderfully made – Psalm 139:14
Every hair on your head is numbered - Matthew 10:30
You are engraved on the palms of His hands - Isaiah 49:16
SELF-DISCIPLINE: I could go in so many directions this one – for a healthy body and for a healthy mind - just to name two. But I am going to look at self-discipline in regards to temptation. In Matthew 26:41 & Mark 14:38 it says, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” To stay away from anything that will lead me back into an addiction to pornography takes self-discipline. I was not freed from the addiction by my own power and I will not be able stay free by my own strength. But I do have to have the self-discipline to watch and to pray and to follow God’s leading to stay on the narrow path.
Please pray with me: Lord, thank you that you did not give me a spirit of timidity. Help me to fully realize and grow into the spirit of power, love and self-discipline that you have already given me. Amen.