Bible Besties | Timothy

Today’s Bible Besties devotion is about Timothy.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

2 Timothy 1:6

Devotion for Today

Paul wrote two letters to his friend Timothy. He counseled him about not falling for false teachings, prayer, the gospel, godliness, and so much more. There is so much we can learn from Paul’s letters to Timothy, but I want to focus on Timothy himself.

Timothy wasn’t well. We don’t know how he was ill, but we do know that he had “frequent ailments” (1 Timothy 5:23). As someone who’s struggled with chronic pain for years, it’s encouraging to know someone in the Bible can relate to me.

Because, here’s the thing, Timothy struggled with his health, but he was still the one Paul wrote letters to about the church. Even though Timothy was sick, God still chose to use him. God could have easily said, Timothy is suffering from frequent ailments, I’ll write to Joe instead (I totally just made up that name, but you get the idea).

Timothy is a reminder that God can use anyone, at any point in their life. Paul encouraged him to “fan into flame the gift of God…” (2 Timothy 1:6). In the midst of his struggle, Paul reminded him to lean into Jesus. And that’s a great reminder to us that even in the midst of our own junk, we can love and follow Jesus.

Do you ever need that reminder? I know I do.

We make thousands of decisions every day, and even when it hurts, even when we’ve got a million other things on our plate, we can do what God is calling us to do.

First Thessalonians 5:24 says “The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” Jesus can carry out the calling He has place on your life no matter what you’re going through. That’s something I learned over the last seven years or so. But it’s true even now.

I don’t know if you struggle with chronic pain, but we all struggle with something. And no matter what we’re going through, God can use us for His glory.

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