“Hold On, Help Is on the Way” by Whitney Houston & Georgia Mass Choir.
2 Tim 4:13 (KJV)
13 The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.
Hold On.
English: The Apostle Paul (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It can be hard to imagine that the Lord is working out something good on your behalf, when comfort is lacking. Today’s verse is an example of how the servants of the Lord must keep the faith, even in the middle of inconvenient and uncomfortable circumstances. The damp, dark Roman jail must have chilled the imprisoned Apostle Paul to the bone. I feel cold just thinking about what it must have been like to be in chains for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, with a raving maniac like Nero thirsting for the blood of saints.
Paul made a simple request of Timothy: He wanted the cloak he left at Troas. He also asked for his books and precious parchments. The cloak was useful for keeping warm, and the books and parchments were useful for the engagement and comfort of his mind. It’s a simple thing to want to wrap a cloak around your chilled body. It is a simple thing to want to read a book. There are times, though, when you and I will be in circumstances where we yearn in vain for physical and mental comfort.
I have been without an ample coat in the dead of winter, knee-deep in snow. Yet the warmth of an indoor fire was only 2 miles or so away. Though it seemed I would never get there, all I had to do was persevere, and relief was within reach. The Apostle Paul was not within walking distance of his cloak, books and parchments. He was not even free to walk about. Dependent upon the faithfulness of Timothy, he had to wait with a measure of uncertainty. Yet he persevered, not because relief from the cold was around the corner, or on its way to him with certainty. For him, there was no warm fire burning in the distance. No. He persevered, as others in the “great cloud of witnesses.” He persevered as “seeing Him Who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27). He waited because he was firmly in the hand, and under the command of “the immortal, invisible, only wise, God.” (1 Timothy 1:17).
Paul was a wanderer, “a prisoner of Christ” with many a tale of survival. 2 Corinthians 11:24-26 says:
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
Was there ever any safety for Paul? Yes, for him (and for us too), there was safety in the arms of Jesus. The cloak and parchments are symbols of things we find useful in life. They are necessities, not luxuries. What is your cloak? What are your books and parchments? Your car? Your job? Your bank account? Your home? Where are they now? Have they been stolen, or repossessed? If they are not at your side, take comfort, for our mighty God, is always with you. His Holy Spirit is there to comfort you. By the stripes of Jesus you are healed. The grace of God is sufficient. So hold on.
Until we meet again: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10)
Your friend in Christ,
Verneda
Twitter handle: @vlights
© 2012 Verneda Lights. All Rights Reserved.
“Hold On, Help Is on the Way” by Whitney Houston & Georgia Mass Choir from the Movie “The Preacher’s Wife,” was uploaded on Youtube.com by Christen3vols on Feb 13, 2012. Verneda Lights and E-graphX Omnimedia have no ownership in this video. It is used for educational purposes only.
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