As Paul the apostle sat
within a prison, he wrote a letter to the Philippian church. He knew
they were growing in their relationship with the Lord Jesus, however
he desired to send his young protege' Timothy to see their progress.
He had no other person who was as like-minded as Timothy as Timothy
was like a son with a father to Paul as they ministered the gospel of
Jesus Christ. In Philippians chapter two and verse twenty-three Paul
shares his personal hope to be with the Philippians soon where we
read:
Him therefore I hope to
send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me
The
verse begins, “Him therefore I hope to send
presently,...” Paul shares his
conclusion to his summation that Timothy is like a son in the faith
to him. He trusted the report that Timothy would give, and
“therefore” he
hoped to send him “presently”
which means “on the instant or forthwith”. In other words,
because of Timothy's faithfulness, Paul would send him as soon as
possible to see for himself how they were doing.
The
verse goes on to say, “...so soon as I shall see how it will go
with me.” In an almost reflective verbiage, Paul turns his
conversation toward himself. We can almost imagine Paul's desire to
go to the Philippians personally as he wrote “as soon I shall
see” or “I will soon know” “how it will go with me”.
Paul's future was indeterminate at this point as he knew that he may
give his life for the gospel. Although he had hope to be with the
Philippian church members, he did not know his personal fate.
As we
imagine Paul the apostle writing these words, perhaps there are areas
in our lives where we “hope” but do not know our future.
Maybe we wish certain things would take place or events would change.
Perhaps we desire a relationship to be different or better, and still
we do not see what will become of us. As we think about these things
we might be compelled to realize there are certain things of which we
have no control, and they are in God's hands. There are other things
we can control, and God has graciously given us the strength, talent
and abilities to care for them. As with Paul, we too can discover
there is wisdom in determining which category our endeavors fall, and
when they lean to God's side, let us always forfeit our own efforts
to Him as we wait and “see”.
Next
time Paul tells the Philippians about
his trust that he shall soon be with them,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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