Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:30 — 15.8MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | TuneIn | RSS
We are living in perilous times. The apostle Paul warns Timothy that the last days bring people who look godly on the outside but are rotten on the inside. They say the right things, lift their hands, and quote scripture, but they deny the power of the Holy Spirit. These are not strangers. They creep into our communities and our homes. We must learn to recognize them and turn away.
Not everything around us is false, though. We have been given true examples to follow. The evidence is in the lives of faithful people who have suffered, endured, and kept going anyway. Scars are not lies. When we look at those who have gone before us and see that God delivered them through hard times, not around them, we find reason to trust the same road ourselves.
Continuing is not a flashy calling. It is not the kind of word that fits on a banner or gets people excited. And yet it is the very thing Paul urges us to do. We grow weary sometimes. We wonder if the gospel is working. We hear voices telling us we are on the wrong path. But the challenge is simply this: keep going in what we have learned and been assured of.
There is a great sadness in those who are still searching. The imposters, the deceivers, the ones chasing something they cannot name, they will not find it outside of Jesus. They are caught in a long, tired loop of wanting and disappointment. God desires better for them. He desires that all people come to the knowledge of the truth.
So we press on together. God is a deliverer, and his power is given to those who say yes to his Spirit. We encourage one another to continue, because none of us should be left to assume the others are fine on their own. Like travelers on a long road through a dark wood, we are each other’s company and each other’s strength, until we are presented faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.