Life is Hard, trust God - 2 Timothy 3:14

2 Timothy 3:14 (ESV)

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it

Two things prompt Paul to encourage Timothy to continue in what he had firmly believed. First was the truth that life is hard for believers. The second I’ll address in a later blog on this verse. First, Paul recites the hardships from which he has been delivered. Then he concludes, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12). That is not what we want to hear. We want to hear that we will live a comfortable life. We want to hear that God will fix all our problems. We want to hear about the wonderful life we will experience as believers. But Paul says that with a desire to live a godly life comes persecution. The word translated “persecuted” means to be chased, harassed, and mistreated.

Notice that the persecution does not come because we are obnoxious about our faith. It comes because we “desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus.” Too often I have seen people be obnoxious about their faith and then label people’s response as persecution. Real persecution comes not because we are pushy or obnoxious, but because we pursue godliness. We have an Enemy that stirs people up against us when we begin to take our faith seriously.

Our response to persecution ought to be not to fight back, but to hold to what we believe. When bad things happen, when opposition arises, when we are attacked, we can begin to question our faith. If God is real, why did this happen? If God loves us, why is life so hard? Hold on to what you have learned and firmly believed.

Maybe this verse could be summarized this way: Life is hard. Trust God! May we never be moved from our foundation of faith in Christ Jesus. Whether loss, or opposition, whether pain or persecution, trust God. “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it” (1 Tim 3:14).