Suddenly, a strange verse pops up. As if Paul reconsiders. He knows he has taught Timothy so much already, and maybe he has talked a bit too much – maybe it is a bit too much for Timothy to take in with everything he had already written to him. Therefore, this verse: ⁹You can count on this. Take it to heart.

It’s as if Paul highlights all the words that he has written to Timothy up to now and makes them bold. He wants to double underline the importance of these words. These lifesaving truths must be conveyed with authority.

In the following verse he summarises exactly what he has said up to now: ¹⁰This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We’re banking on the living God, Saviour of all men and women, especially believers.

The truth, the absolute truth, the only truth that matters is that God is our Saviour. The rest is noise. Yes, sometimes we get caught up in the noise and miss the simplicity of the message of salvation.

But read the verse again. It is not an easy journey. It’s certainly not going to be a walk in the park kind of outing.

I often walk past the muscle men in the gym. Then I dream of one day also having muscles like them, but then I see how hard they practise and how they do everything possible to gain just a little bit of muscle.

That is also true of life out there. It’s not easy. It’s a struggle to keep your head above water. Curveballs you never expected come your way. From strangers, but also from friends and family. This makes it even worse.

Then I realise more and more that I’m simply too weak to tackle life out there on my own. I cannot escape the waves that crash over my head one after the other, but I can hold onto the hope and the expectation that my Saviour God will walk with me through the mess.

We must not forget this message. We’ll need it when the next big wave from our marriages and relationships, our business and work or whatever comes crashing down. The wave will not drown us, true, maybe it will push us down and roll us over, but our God will prevent it from engulfing us.

Let’s memorise the text with these simple words: ¹⁰… We’re banking on the living God, Saviour of all men and women, especially believers.

God loves us so much that He was prepared to sacrifice his Son’s life for us. Why would God drop us now? Why would He abandon us now? Never ever would He do that. God loves us too much.

Believe it!

Hope it!

Live it!

Scripture

1 Timothy 4:6-16

Think about this

Where is the wave crushing you?
Do you believe God is there with you?
Do you live that belief?

Prayer

Living God, my hope is in You when the waves want to crush me against the sand. I want to stay close to You so that You can teach me to live a life dedicated to You. You have saved me from the power that sin had over me. Now I can live victoriously and rely on your closeness. Amen.