I believe this to be one of the more powerful promises in the Bible. Paul
was writing to Timothy while in Rome. He had just written in verse 16, "
At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be
charged against them." All of those who had been with him while they
were not in personal danger left him when there was danger of suffering with
him. Then he goes on to say in verse 17, "But the Lord stood with me
and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me,
and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth
of the lion."
He had been called to appear before the emperor and upon his appeal to Caesar,
no man stood with him to plead his cause, to bear witness for him, and not
so much as to be there with him. All men forsook him. But he was not alone.
The Lord stood by him and strengthened him that he might proclaim the message
fully that the Gentiles might hear.
Though it may seem that all have forsaken us, the Lord is always by our side
just as He was with Paul. The writer of the Hebrew letter wrote, "For
He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews
13:5 These words were also spoken to Joshua, Josh.1:5, and by David to Solomon.
1 Chron. 28:20
When we face hardships or trials, the first emotion that we feel may well
be that of fear and we feel we are alone. We must find the courage that it
takes to face life's trials. Trials and problems are a natural part of life.
If we feel that our friends have deserted us, we must have the attitude that
Paul had and not be condemning, but be forgiving.
It is in time of trials that we are in the most danger of being led astray
by the evil one. He is always lying in wait for a chance to move in and try
to turn us away from the Lord. I believe the hardest thing to do, when we
are suffering constantly, is to fight off his advances in trying to get us
to blame the Lord for our suffering. Much prayer is a big weapon to battle
Satan.
Friends may desert us, but one thing is for sure, God will never desert us.
He is always there loving us and supplying all our needs.
I believe there are two things that will help when we are facing life's trials.
1. Be aware of the presence of the Lord.
As Christians we have the assurance that the Lord is with us and will never
leave us.
Acts 18:9-10 "Now the Lord spoke to Paul and said, be not afraid.. for
I am with you and no one will attact you to hurt you.." Many times in
scripture, the Lord has said, " fear not for I am with you.." We
are told in Matt.10:28 "do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot
kill the soul.." As long as we are faithful to the Lord, He will stand
with us and we should not fear anyone or anything that can only harm our physical
body.
Paul was told again as recorded in Acts 23:11 "the Lord stood by him
and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in
Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome."
After all he had gone through, it must have been especially consoling to him
to hear these words of encouragement from the Lord Jesus. There is nothing
that can comfort and keep the soul in time of trials more than the knowledge
that we have the presence and gracious promises of God to aid us.
2. Draw from the strength and grace of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 " Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord
three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace
is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power
of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.
When God does not remove our troubles and temptations, yet, if he gives us
grace sufficient for us, we have no reason to complain, nor to say that He
is unfair with us. It is a great comfort to us, whatever thorns in the flesh
we are pained with, that God's grace is sufficient for us. Grace signifies
the good will of God towards us, and this is enough to enlighten us, and sufficient
to strengthen and comfort us
If we can only have the same attitude that the apostle had and look be aware
that the Lord is always present and ready to stand up for us in all our trials,
if we fully trust Him.
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