The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly Kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! 2 Timothy 4:18
The author of the above scripture is apostle Paul, and is one of the highlights of his ministry. He is writing his Valedictory speech. It is some of the last precious pearls of wisdom that the church receives from him.
Paul’s journey to Christ was steered by zeal for the Law. His focus was on his efforts to uphold the law. He was self righteous. He by his acts would follow the law and fulfilling them would give him a sense of accomplishment. His focus was himself.
Paul meets Jesus sometime later in a desert called Damascus. He is literally blinded by the light that shone through Jesus. His encounter with Christ brings to light all that he truly was. His self righteousness as filthy rags before God. He is set free by the truth that Jesus is the Messiah.
In our life we face moments of obscurity where we cannot see what is ahead of us. Even having met Jesus Paul was still blind for sometime. We tend to think that if Jesus is our Lord then we will see everything.
When we cannot be certain of what is ahead we can be certain of our God’s character. He is Love. He is faithful. He is almighty. He never fails. We can lean on Him.
Learning to trust Him when we cannot see the future are the building blocks of Faith! And it pleases God.
Apostle Paul’s focus shifts from himself to God. As a result he wrote two thirds of the new testament. He was healed of his blindness both physically and spiritually. He preached the Gospel of Good news. He healed the sick and even raised the dead.
His life was filled with accomplishments for Christ and the early church. But his focus never changed. The greatest thing we can ever do is to know HIM. At the end of his life he states that the Lord will deliver him and preserve him. He glorifies God and rightly so.
Let us turn our eyes upon Jesus. Look full on his wonderful face. He delivers us and preserves us. To him be all the Glory.
