WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH 2 Tim 1:1-12
INTRO:
Response to an Insurance Company
I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In block #3 of the accident form, I put “trying to do the job alone” as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the date of the accident I was working alone on the roof of a new six story building. When I completed my work, I found that I had about 500 pounds of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which fortunately was attached to the side of the building at the 6th floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of brick. You will note in block #11 of the accident report that I weigh 135 pounds. But to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull, and broken collar bone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were 2 knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind, and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel then weighed approximately 50 pounds.
I refer you again to my weight in block#11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, and the lacerations of my legs, and lower body area. The encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks, and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks, in pain … unable to stand … and watching the empty barrel six stories above me … I again lost my presence of mind and let go of the rope. The empty barrel weighed more than the rope, so it came back down on me, and broke both my legs.
I hope I have furnished the information you have required.
All of us live with trouble. Job 5:7 Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.
John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Most people know how to handle the good time. It is the time of trouble in which they need help.
How do we handle the tough times of life?
Read 2 Tim 1:1-12
I. THROUGH A CONTROLLED LIFE
A. Paul tells us that God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. v. 7
B. To be victorious in life we need to :
Choose to suffer if need be, than to give into a life of impulse. v. 8
• NKJV “sound mind” = clear understanding, sound judgment
• There is a tendency to let our minds wonder and let Satan finish the picture for us.
• There is a philosophy that says “if it feels good, do it.”
• We operate more on our feelings than we do on what is right.
• In other words, God does not intend that defeat should be the norm of Christian living. We should be disciplined Christians rather than slaves to our emotions. We are all moved by our emotions. That is why people will send money to organizations that advertise with the picture of a poor, hungry, little orphan. But Christians are not to be motivated by their emotions. Our emotions are not to master us. We are to be disciplined. J. Vernon McGee
Choose to not be ashamed when all others feel you are wrong.
• Paul tells Timothy not to be ashamed to testify or of him. He knew there would be a tendency for Timothy to shrink away from him because he was in prison.
• We are more afraid of what others think, than to stand for the right thing.
• In Acts 3, Peter and John healed the lame man and was confronted by the Pharisees and Sadducees in chapter 4. Three times Peter declares the power of God instead of bowing to the pressure of men.
C. We need to be controlled with the power of God in every situation!
II. THROUGH A CONFIDENT LIFE
A. In v. 12 because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard
B. To be victorious in life we need to:
Know our purpose and reason for why we make our decisions.
• It is important for us to have a strong belief in God. One that is not wavering or easily moved.
• Paul is purpose driven instead of driven by circumstance.
• Prov 19:21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
• We need to know our purpose and reason instead of leaving it up to situational ethics.
Know with confidence whose we are and what He can do!
• We do not rely on our own strength to make it through the problems of life.
• We are a child of God and it is His ability that will see us through.
Flying Lesson
Some years ago when I was learning to fly, my instructor told me to put the plane into a steep and extended dive. I was totally unprepared for what was about to happen. After a brief time the engine stalled, and the plane began to plunge out-of-control. It soon became evident that the instructor was not going to help me at all. After a few seconds, which seemed like eternity, my mind began to function again. I quickly corrected the situation. Immediately I turned to the instructor and began to vent my fearful frustrations on him.
He very calmly said to me, “There is no position you can get this airplane into that I cannot get you out of. If you want to learn to fly, go up there and do it again.” At that moment God seemed to be saying to me, “Remember this. As you serve Me, there is no situation you can get yourself into that I cannot get you out of. If you trust me, you will be all right.” That lesson has been proven true in my ministry many times over the years.
James Brown, Evangeline Baptist Church, Wildsville, LA, in Discoveries, Fall, 1991, Vol. 2, No. 4
III. THROUGH A COMMITTED LIFE
A. Paul uses the term “entrusted” or “committed” (NKJV)
B. To be about to handle the tough times we need to be committed in our faith. It is not a part time activity. It is a full commitment!
C. To be victorious in life we need to:
Make an investment!
• Too many times we are bargain hunters in life.
• There are no victories at discount prices. - General Dwight Eisenhower
• Trying to find the best value for the least amount of investment.
• Matt 6:19-20 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
• That’s All Mine!
George W. Truett, a well-known pastor, was invited to dinner in the home of a very wealthy man in Texas. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area.
Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, he boasted, “Twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it’s all mine.” Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain, he said, “That’s all mine.” Turning east toward huge herds of cattle, he bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, “That too is all mine.”
He paused, expecting Dr. Truett to compliment him on his great success. Truett, however, placing one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointing heavenward with the other, simply said, “How much do you have in that direction?”
The man hung his head and confessed, “I never thought of that.”
Our Daily Bread, October 24, 1992
Make it with one that can be trusted!
• Rose’s first law of investments: Never invest your money in anything that eats or needs repainting. - Billy Rose
• Matt. 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
CONCLUSION:
It Is Well With My Soul
Having lost in a fire virtually everything they owned, the Spafford family made new plans, including a move from Chicago to France. Horatio Spafford planned the trip for his wife and four daughters to be as trouble-free as possible. To transport them from America to France, he booked passage on a huge ship, and made sure they had Christians with whom to fellowship in route. He planned to join them a few weeks later. In spite of much careful preparation, Mr. Spafford’s plans suddenly dissolved when the ship carrying his loved ones was rammed by another vessel and sank, carrying his four beloved daughters to the bottom. Anyone who has ever had their plans disrupted by the hand of God can understand Spafford’s plight. The next time you are in church, turn to the words of the great hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul”—words he penned as his ship passed over the watery grave of his four daughters!
Today in the Word, July, 1989, p. 27
