For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and self-control

Have you ever wondered how you would have responded to the growing power of the Nazis in the 1930s in Germany? It is easy to say well I would have stood up against them, but those who did were few and far between, and the pressure to remain silent must have been enormous. But actually closer to home, it’s no easy task to stand up to the tyranny of political correctness here in the West in our day. But stand up, and speak up we must. The saying “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing,” is resonating with me this morning.

And you can be sure that there will be times when we will be misunderstood and falsely accused even when we speak in love. This is one the weapons of the enemy! And it is difficult, because our culture has confused disagreement with hate and fear. It is also difficult, since certainly hate, fear and injustice have been perpetrated on many marginalized groups. So as believers, we need to examine our hearts, to make sure we are not operating in this way. According to this morning’s quote from 2 Timothy 1:7 this would not be of the Lord.

In the previous verse, Paul had been admonishing Timothy to stir up the gift he had received from the Lord. And this gift to Timothy and in fact to us, includes power, love and a sound mind. Power here includes strength of character, and the ability to be bold in exercising the gift. We must be certain too, that we always operate out of love, and self-control. We need self-control, I need self-control because my natural response to being attacked and falsely accused can, if I don’t watch myself, turn into the very thing I am being accused of!

Father, thank You for the gifts of Your Spirit that enable me to do Your work Your way. I receive Your gift of power love and self-control this morning. I cannot do this without You Lord, but with You all things are possible. I also need Your wisdom to know when to speak, what to speak and when to be silent. Help me this morning Lord to stay close to You, so that Your love may flow out through me to this wicked and hurting world in Jesus Name Amen