For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)
Young Timothy was Paul’s spiritual son in the faith and he was facing mounting opposition to his service to our Lord, much of it because he was young in the faith. In today’s passage Paul was providing Timothy with eternal encouragement that can be summed up in a single statement – RESTORE YOUR ROAR!
Notice the three characteristics that Paul sets forth in encouraging Timothy as a leader in the church: power, love, and self-discipline. Let’s take a brief look at each one of these vital characteristics for every Christian that is available for appropriating because of the presence of the Holy Spirit that dwells within.
Power – because God is omnipotent, we have unlimited power at our disposal to be used for the expansion of His Kingdom. We must never forget that the same power that raised Jesus from death to life is the same power that dwells within each child of God . . . and greater is the power within us than any power that comes up against us.
Love – because God is love, we can be loving to everyone, even those who stand in opposition to us. We love because He first loved us and because of the presence of the Holy Spirit we are empowered to love even the unlovable. Love is to flow through us because it flows from our Fountainhead that can never run dry.
Self-discipline – as the writer of Hebrews tells us, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). To be sure, self-discipline is painful, but it produces what is necessary for us to fulfill our calling.
So, in looking at your life right now, how would you rate yourself in the areas of power, love, and self-discipline? In which area are you the strongest? Weakest? Know this, He who began this good work in you has promised to complete it. God is not finished with you yet. Let Him have His way with you and you will see yourself growing daily in the power, love, and self-discipline that is yours because you are His and the Lion from the tribe of Judah has promised to RESTORE YOUR ROAR!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 