Unfinished business. Too much to do.
People with problems who have to see you. Calls, interruptions, nothing gets done. Is this what it’s like serving God’s Son? Where’s the time to get into His Word? Where’s the time for His voice to be heard? And where’s the time to savor life’s beauty? It’s all taken up just doing the duty.
These are words from a poem by George R. Foster. And perhaps that’s how you feel sometimes as you serve God in your church, workplace, school, or home.
Timothy was feeling timid and weak in the Lord’s service when the apostle Paul wrote to encourage him: “Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1).
“In Christ” is a phrase that Paul used often in his epistles. It refers to the amazing truth that when you trust Jesus as your Savior, God views you as totally identified with Him. And all of the riches of Christ are ours because we are “united with Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).
Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, understood what it means to be found in Christ. He wrote: “It makes no matter where He places me or how; that is rather for Him to consider than me. For the easiest positions He must give me grace, and in the most difficult, His grace is sufficient. So, if God places me in great perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; in positions of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength? As to work, mine was never so plentiful, so responsible or so difficult, but the weight and the strain are all gone. His resources are mine, for He is mine.”
His grace is sufficient for you! (2 Corinthians 12:9).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 15:1-10
More:
Use Psalm 46:1-11 as a prayer to help you to lean on God, who is your strength.
Next:
Use the words “in Christ” for a keyword search of an online Bible. Read all the promises that are yours in Christ. Which ones mean the most to you and why?
Gene on August 14, 2014 at 7:32 am
What we have in Christ is what it’s all about! We already have every spiritual blessing, the battle is won, and we are redeemed. Yes, the work is not finished for us, but knowing and meditating on what we have must be part of our daily lives. Thanks, Poh, for this very relevant topic.
Tom Felten on August 14, 2014 at 8:27 am
So true, Poh Fang. In Christ, we have all we need to accomplish what lies before us today! As Paul wrote, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).
Winn Collier on August 26, 2014 at 4:46 pm
You know what words strike me today, when you quote Paul’s tender bit: “my dear son.” I think that’s really important.