Anyone feel a “Pity-Party” coming on?

Paul is in a Prison cell. Paul was held under conditions like those of convicted killer. Bound by heavy chains, that bruise and lacerate. Chained in a cell where his bed was also his bathroom. It was wet, dirty, cold and rodent-infested. He was probably not allowed to wash or dress himself. He was lonely, as everyone who loved him had deserted him when he was on trail, no one stood up for him or his innocence. 

It is at this time that he writes his last letter to Timothy, not knowing it would be his last letter, before his own death at the hands of a crazed Emperor, Nero, but he must have known the time was drawing close (2 Tim 4:6)

In this state, what letter would you write?

As I look back over my journals and see the things I write to God in times when I am having a bad day, I can only imagine If I was Paul I might start this letter by saying……

“Why have you, My God, abandoned me?

All my friends have gone and I feel so alone.

I have tried to serve you faithfully all these years, and now I doubt if I ever heard God’s call in the first place. What has been the point of it all, I have failed you,

I have failed God and am clearly being punished.

I will rot in this jail till my death, alone.

Will someone please pray for me and help me!”

But in the light of knowing the context of when this letter was written, I re-read 2 Timothy, from beginning to end, the way a letter is meant to be read and am again floored. I am amazed by Paul’s faith, his resolve, his strength, his perseverance, mostly his JOY.

2 Timothy is filled with GOLD, which has become EVEN MORE precious when I begin to understand the circumstances in which it has been written.  We take away the power of God’s word when we pull out a single, individual verse and use it as comfort without fully understanding when, where and why it has been written.

For it is in 2 Timothy we read incredible statements like….

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7)

“Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join me in His suffering for the Gospel, by the power of God who has saved us and called us to a holy life” (2 Tim 1:8-9a)

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness” (1 Tim 4:7)

Paul begins and ends his letter with statements of thanks, grace and peace. He praises God and prays for those who have abandoned him as well as those who have helped him over the years, equally. And sandwiched in between this thankfulness are the words of a man, passionate and determined to encourage and lead those who will listen. Urging them to “Keep the faith”. But don’t take my word for it, take 10 minutes and read this letter yourself.

When you are having a bad day, and the pressures seem too much, and you wonder why it is all happening to you, I challenge you to picture Paul writing this letter to you. It certainly, stopped my “pity-partied” heart today!