Coffee With The Lord

FRUSTRATED! That’s how you feel…

Thanks to COVID-19 (or something else) you feel like you can’t do ANYTHING!

You love the Lord… you love His people… You’re seeking to serve Him and do His will… You haven’t been able to go to church in a normal way… Those stupid masks (and “social distancing”)… the class you love to attend with friends is only done on Zoom… You love to go out, meet people, and share with them about Jesus, but you feel locked up at home… FRUSTRATED!

You think you have it bad… How do you think “Type A” Apostle Paul must have felt? He writes to Timothy from prison and says, “I am suffering, even to the point of being chained like a criminal!” Not an easy situation for an “international evangelist” and “church planter” to handle! It had to be frustrating for a guy used to being a mentor – investing in the lives of young guys in the ministry, like Timothy!

But Paul hastens on to put things in perspective – for Him, and for us! He declares, “But God’s word is not chained [or bound]!” (From 2 Timothy 2:9)

I mean, just look around, incredible doors of ministry to places and people we’ve never reached before because of the restrictions of COVID-19! Opportunities to be the hands, feet, voice, and healing presence of Jesus to others in the power of the Holy Spirit! Sure… a lot of things we can’t do anymore or places we can’t go – but just as truly new doors of opportunity we never dreamed of! Social media, can be a vehicle for sharing the gospel, an encouraging word, and a prayer – not simply a time waster, garbage can for gossip, or smelly pool of negativism.

Hey, “The Word of God is not bound!” In another epistle Paul declared, “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard that my imprisonment is for Christ!” (From Paul’s prison letter Philippians 1:12-13)

With God’s help let’s put our “frustration” in a garbage can, and reach up and take “faith” from off our spiritual pantry shelf! Let’s trust God to open incredible doors of opportunity, to lead us, and use us so that in this challenging time, we discover “the Word of God is not bound!”

Does the name Onesiphorus mean anything to you? Probably not in a personal way… But if you’d had the privilege of a personal conversation with Apostle Paul late in his life – in prison in Rome, just before his martyrdom – He’d have told you just how much this guy and his entire household (probably meaning the members of the church that met in his house) meant to him!

Here’s what Paul had to say about it in 2 Timothy (I just read it in my Bible during my time of “coffee with the Lord)…

“You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains! On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus!” (2 Timothy 1:15-18)

People who help others – especially older saints – in their time of loneliness and need are very special! Their concern is like a “cup of cold water” on a hot day to a parched throat! It’s like the healing hand of Jesus extended – more than that – it’s like His loving presence, His comforting voice in their time of deepest need. Not only did Onesiphorus get involved in helping Paul… his entire “household” (likely implying his congregation or the “church” that met in his house) ministered to his need! They were “the body of Christ” in Paul’s deepest need. How did Jesus Himself say it… “As you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to Me!” (Matthew 25:40, 45) How did the old gospel song put it… “Oh to be His hand extended!”

Oh what a challenge! What an honor to be an “Onesiphorus” kind of person (or a member of his household) to someone in need! Gotta tell you… I want to be one! And as passionately as I want to be a member of his household… I want to avoid like the plague being like those in the province of Asia… especially like Phygelus and Hermogenes who forsook Paul in His time of need… ashamed of him… ashamed of the gospel (see 2 Timothy 1:8)!

Suffering? Are there days you just don’t know if you can hold on or continue to stand strong? Apostle Paul had days like that!

It’s especially hard when you know that you’re suffering for the right thing – the right reasons! Paul urged Timothy, “Join me in suffering for the gospel!” and said, “That is why I am suffering as I am.” (2 Timothy 1:8, 12)

But in the middle of your suffering we can have the same conviction Apostle Paul did… He said, “I know Whom I have believed in, and am convinced that He is able to guard [keep] what I have entrusted to Him until that day [that he returns or calls me “home”]!

Hey, Praise the Lord! In our suffering we can have that firm conviction! He has promised to guard or keep what we’ve entrusted to Him! I’m glad I’ve entrusted who I am – all that I am – past, present and future to Him! Aren’t you?