During World War II when sugar was scarce a man went into a diner and asked for a cup of coffee.
“Sugar or cream, the waitress asked?”
“Sugar,” he replied. Since the sugar was so scarce, she kept it under the counter. The man put in 2 heaping teaspoons full of sugar, tasted it and said, “I need more sugar.”
The waitress set the sugar back up on the counter. He put in another heaping teaspoon. Tasted it and said, “Still not sweet enough. I need a little more.”
Disgusted, the waitress glared at him and said, “Stir up what you’ve already got”
Paul was reminding Timothy that the gifts God had given him were there all along and that they needed to be cultivated and developed. He had the start of faith, but he needed to stir it up and grow it into strong faith.