SCRIPTURE: 2 Tim. 1:12 NIV Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
THOUGHT: Paul is in chains because the power of the gospel changed him. He was once the religious elite, proud of his legalism, unbending in his belief that he was right; he was going to save the day, all on behalf of God! Instead, Jesus knocked him to his knees, spoke a very few words, and his well-ordered life fell apart. Can you imagine the shame the proud Saul of Tarsus would have felt to be in chains? He was the one who put people in chains, not the other way around!
But now, Paul is imprisoned and unashamed. The important thing to him is that he knows the one he believes in. He doesn’t just talk about Jesus, he knows Jesus, and trusts the hands that are holding his life – through all the good and all the bad. Everything else is in the “loss” column because he has gained what mattered most (Phil. 3:8).
PRAYER: I have lost too, Lord God. I have lost battles that seemed so big and important. But then, I have gained you. And I am convinced you will guard every bit of what I’ve entrusted to you, no matter where this journey takes me.
Amy released a full-length book in early 2021, Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. Maybe you’d like to check it out here.
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