Will You Forsake God?

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
 ¹⁵Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
 ¹⁶At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
 ¹⁷Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
 ¹⁸And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
-2 Timothy 4:14-18 (KJV)

No one, I believe, will argue with my statement that Paul probably had more trials for his faith than anyone else. It seemed that in every city he preached the Gospel in, he stirred up challengers. Yet, his faith remained strong. After all, here is Paul taking the message of the Gospel to the Gentiles, and people either loved him, or hated him. Look at these verses, Paul's closing remarks in 2 Timothy 4.

It seemed that Paul was challenged by Alexander (vs. 14), who did much evil to Paul. He doesn't reveal what Alexander had done to him, but Paul finishes that thought with "the Lord reward him according to his works." Paul also warned Timothy about him, verse 15 says, "Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words." Paul is making sure that Timothy is aware of this man, Alexander, who did much evil to Paul. Verses 16-18 is where I want to spend some time this day.


¹⁶At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their  charge. ¹⁷Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. ¹⁸And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

While this Alexander was challenging the words of Paul, Paul reveals a disturbing fact. Verse 16 says, "At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge." When the going got tough, no one stood with Paul. When the going got tough, the disciples fled from Jesus (Matthew 26:56) It seems that there are too many "fair weather followers" in our world. Too many people who will love, praise and serve Jesus as long as everything is going well. What happens when they get challenged, or something doesn't work out the way they want? They run away and turn their backs on God. It's what happened to Jesus, it's what happened to Paul.

Look at verse 17. Even when everyone else fled from Paul, the Lord didn't. "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." Even when everyone else fled from Paul, the Lord stood right there. God will never leave you or forsake you-it's a promise that you can take to the bank. Not only did the Lord stand with Paul, but the Lord strengthened Paul. He strengthened Paul to continue to preach the Gospel in spite of difficulties and challenges. The Lord strengthened Paul to continue preaching until all the Gentiles heard the message. Paul knew his mission field, he knew the will of God in his life, and God was going to strengthen him to fulfill that calling.

Finally, verse 18 says, "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Not only did the Lord stand with Paul. Not only did the Lord strengthen him to fulfill his calling. But the Lord delivered him from every evil work. God delivered Paul despite the evil works against him.

Do you know what? God will do the same for you. God will stand with you when no one else will. God will strengthen you to fulfill your calling. God will deliver you from the evil that stands against you. The question is: will you let Him? When evil stands up against your calling, will you flee and forsake your calling? Or, will you stand firm and allow God to work in and through you? Think About It.